Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

🏐

Donghyuck's fingers tightened around the material of Renjun’s practice jersey as Renjun pressed him against the wall, their lips sealed together in a messy kiss. Donghyuck mapped out every centimeter of Renjun's mouth with his tongue, kissing him thoroughly until they were both breathless. Dimly, he could feel his knee pads slipping down his slim legs, but he couldn't be bothered to take them off. Not when he had Renjun in his arms like this, hot and desperate.

"You did well today, baby," Renjun praised, breath warm against Donghyuck's lips. Donghyuck made a soft noise in the back of his throat, a wordless thanks, and leaned forward to kiss Renjun again.

"We should probably get changed," Renjun said eventually, pulling back with a chuckle. He looked so pretty with his mouth kiss-swollen. Donghyuck couldn't believe Renjun was his.

"You don't think I look hot like this?" Donghyuck joked, tugging at the material of his own practice jersey. Renjun's eyes darkened when Donghyuck teasingly lifted up his jersey to reveal flushed skin.

"Don't be a tease," Renjun growled, stepping back and sitting on the bench, bending over to carefully untie his shoes. Donghyuck joined him, kicking off his own shoes and pulling his knee pads off. He frowned at the small tear in the left pad; he'd had these knee pads for almost a year.

"Hey," Renjun said, capturing Donghyuck's attention. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of Mizuno LR6s in Donghyuck's size, placing them on the bench. "I noticed yours were getting worn out so I ordered these a couple days ago." Donghyuck looked at the knee pads, then at his boyfriend who was deliberately avoiding eye contact, ears tinged pink, and felt his heart thump oddly in his chest. God, he was so in love with Renjun.

"Thank you," he finally managed to say. And if Renjun noticed the way his voice cracked, he didn't show it on his face. They hit the showers, Renjun scrubbing Donghyuck's back and Donghyuck massaging Renjun's scalp. Once they'd dried off and gotten dressed, Donghyuck draped his jacket over Renjun's shoulders and tugged him out of the locker room.

The school was completely empty now, save for the janitors. Nobody stayed this late, but Renjun and Donghyuck had gotten special permission, provided they mopped up and locked the doors of the gym afterwards. Heather View Secondary was famous for their athletic teams, and whilst volleyball wasn't as popular as basketball and football, the Heather View volleyball team always ranked top three in the division. Donghyuck was a little bitter that they didn't get much funding compared to the more popular sports.

Donghyuck and Renjun in particular were pretty well known all over the city. The loud, spunky setter and the quiet, calm libero made for a unique pairing. Donghyuck and Renjun were always in sync, both on and off the court. Despite only knowing each other for a few years, they had an almost telepathic connection. Idly, Donghyuck fiddled with his Heather View Huskies pin that was attached to the strap of his bag. Thinking back, he never would've imagined getting along with Renjun, much less falling in love with him. Renjun had come from a prestigious middle school, and had won the "Best Libero" award for three years in a row.

Donghyuck, on the other hand, became a setter in the last year of middle school, and was awful at the time. Hours of practice had refined his skills, but he so clearly remembered the look of disappointment on his coach's face as he failed to adjust to his new position. Loud shrieks of laughter pierced Donghyuck's eardrums as he held the door open for Renjun, shaking him out of his thoughts.

The football kids were kicking a ball around at the front of the school. Their season had yet to start, but Donghyuck could easily recognize Nakamoto Yuta and Qian Kun among the other players. One noticeable figure—besides Wong Yukhei, Heather View's goalie who loomed over everyone else—was Mark Lee, the basketball team's power forward. His presence made Donghyuck pause, slowing his steps. The basketball player was sitting atop one of the picnic tables, looking bored as he watched his friends play a rendition of football. They paid no mind to their only non-footballer friend, who looked pitiful as he stared at the game.

Donghyuck felt bad, knowing all about feeling excluded in a group of friends, but not bad enough to stop walking as Renjun gave him a questioning look.

"Wanna come over for dinner? My mom made gamjatang," Renjun offered. Once upon a time, Donghyuck would have been too afraid to say yes. Now, he knew that Renjun's mother happily accepted their relationship, treating Donghyuck like he was her own son.

"Yes," Donghyuck said vehemently, taking delight in how a pleased smile made its way on Renjun's face. He grabbed Renjun's hand, lacing their fingers together as they walked. Life couldn't get any better than this.

🏀

Mark knew, in the back of his mind, that the volleyball season hadn't actually started yet, but it still took him by surprise when the volleyball players walked past, hair still damp from their showers.

The basketball season had only just begun, and while the volleyball season followed shortly after basketball ended, the members of the volleyball team had already been selected. This, Mark assumed, was to maximize the amount of practice. The volleyball team was more dedicated than any other team at Heather View.

Mark watched them go. He didn't know their names, just that they were a year below him and the most popular players on the team. He’d seen their pictures in the school newspaper plenty of times. They made a cute couple.

A yelled “heads!” was the only warning he got before a football flew at his face. Mark caught the ball before it could make contact, black and white blurring in front of his eyes.

“Sorry, Mark,” Yuta called distractedly. Mark grunted and threw the ball at Yuta’s feet, slipping off the table and brushing his pants off. He’d been sitting there for the better part of an hour.

“I think I'm gonna head home,” Mark said loudly. When no one spared a glance in his direction, he wondered if he should repeat himself. Deciding it wasn't worth it, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and strolled past the game of football, narrowly avoiding Yukhei’s flailing elbows as he ducked past their makeshift goal.

Huffing a loud breath, Mark glanced at his friends one last time before turning away and walking off the school grounds. He loved his friends, really, but sometimes it seemed like they forgot he even existed.

Lost in his thoughts, Mark didn't notice the small figure barreling through the door of the convenience store until it was too late. Splat!

“Oh, shit,” he heard distantly, but was more focused on the blue ice pop melting on his extremely expensive Nikes. It’ll probably wash off, he thought (prayed) desperately.

“Hyuck, you idiot!” Mark looked up to see the two volleyball players he’d seen earlier standing in front of him, the shorter one smacking the other in the head. “How many times have I told you to watch where you’re going?”

“Hyuck” stuck out his lower lip. Mark felt something in his stomach bubble up like Coca-Cola. He patted his tummy. Maybe it was something he ate. “Sorry, Jun.”

“Sorry about the shoes,” said “Jun”, “I’m sure it’ll wash off.”

“Yeah, probably,” Mark replied. “You go to my school, right?”

“Mhm,” the volleyball players hummed, both sounding bored and disinterested. Mark winced slightly, taking a step back and wringing his hands nervously, wondering if he somehow offended them.

“Well, see you around,” the other one, “Hyuck”, said before they turned and walked away. Mark waved awkwardly, although they weren’t even looking at him anymore. Sighing, he stuck his hands back in his pockets and made his way home.

“I’m home!” He called loudly, kicking his shoes off as he stepped through the front door. Picking them up, he headed for the bathroom and rinsed off his shoes, scrubbing them with an old toothbrush. Thankfully, the blue stains disappeared after he used some laundry soap.

Drying off his hands, Mark stepped out, almost running into his mother who was passing by, carrying a laundry basket overflowing with clothes.

“Let me take that.” Gently, he tugged the basket out of her grasp. “How was your day?”

“The same as always, sweetie,” his mother replied, an amused smile playing on her lips. Mark asked her how her day was whenever he came back from school and frankly, her answer rarely changed. He still liked to ask, though. “How was school?”

“It was good,” Mark called, already halfway up the stairs. He left the basket at the foot of his mother’s bed before heading back downstairs. His mother handed him a cup of tea and they sat at the kitchen table. “Got my Chem test back today, I got a ninety-eight. Would’ve been higher but I messed up one of my answers.”

“You’re doing well in that class, I’m so proud,” his mother said happily. Mark grinned at her; she didn’t care much for grades but still praised him whenever he scored high on a test or in a course. “And your friends?”

Mark’s smile faded. “They’re doing alright. We were hanging out but they just wanted to play football so I went home.” It wasn’t like Mark minded that they decided to play their favourite sport, it was just that despite his athleticism, he was awful at football.

His mother sighed. “I really wish you would get some better friends. Or a boyfriend or girlfriend. You look so lonely.”

“They’re not that bad,” Mark said defensively, “And I don’t really hang out with them much. I’m more focused on school.”

“I know honey, but I’d rather you had some good friends to watch your back when your teammates are being jerks.” They’ve had this conversation many times. Mark wasn’t popular with the other members of the basketball team. He had “stolen” the position of starting PF from one of the other players, and his teammates were none too happy about it. The fact that he was a gay (bisexual, really, but that didn’t matter to them) Asian didn’t help matters at all.

“It’s okay, Mom. Some people have it way worse than me,” Mark said, trying to reassure her.

Mark’s mom shook her head and left it alone. Mark was grateful; he always felt guilty when his mom worried about him. She had more important things to worry about, and just because some kids at school weren’t the nicest, it didn’t mean anything. Mark could handle a little disrespect, as long as he was able to play ball.

Mark broke his train of thought when he let out a loud yawn, barely managing to cover his mouth before his mother could admonish him.

“Tired, baby?” His mom asked, reaching over to pat his hand. She wasn't always so attentive, but after Mark’s dad left, she became more soft and doting. It might also be the fact that she’s rarely home, always travelling for her job.

“Yeah,” Mark sighed, yawning again. “Sorry. I was up late applying for scholarships.”

“Why don't you go take a nap while I finish dinner?”

Mark frowned. “You don't need any help?”

His mother shook her head, standing up from her chair and walking over to kiss Mark’s temple.

“Go sleep,” she said firmly. Mark hugged her and obediently went to his room, face planting on his bed. The smell of his mom’s cooking wafted up the stairs, and Mark smiled into his pillow.

Life wasn't the greatest, but it didn't mean he wasn't thankful for what he had.

🏐

“Nice receive!”

“Nice kill, Jisung!”

The second year beamed, happily high-fiving Donghyuck with both hands. Jisung had never played volleyball before moving here, but his natural athleticism and competitive mindset made up for the skills he lacked. The fact that he was younger and so cute meant Renjun and Donghyuck doted on him more often than not. And the fact that, other than Donghyuck and Renjun, he was the only Asian on the team. While HVHS was culturally diverse, most of the Asian population lived uptown and therefore out of catchment.

Renjun was one of those uptown kids, but his parents didn't like the schools in his area, so Renjun took the bus to school everyday. Whenever Donghyuck slept over, they'd go to the convenience store and grab a snack for the half hour bus ride.

School had finally picked up, the feeling of summer receding as students dove into their assignments with reluctance. It meant that many members of the volleyball team had other obligations and therefore could not attend practice. When the season began, it would be another story, but for now, there were only six players, their coach, and their supervisor at the morning practice.

“We're gonna do three-on-three,” their captain, Joshua, instructed. “No serves yet, just toss the ball in play. We’re just trying to get comfortable with each other. Setters pick the teams.”

“I want Jisung and Renjun,” Donghyuck said quickly. Their other setter, Lucas, laughed softly, unsurprised. “Please?”

Joshua raised an eyebrow. “If Lucas is okay with it.”

“I'm okay with it. Joshua, Alexander, guess you're with me. Don't go easy on them,” Lucas said, grinning mischievously.

“Loser has to do diving laps around the gym?” Alexander suggested, his smile a perfect replica of his twin, Nikolai’s, evil smirk. Donghyuck shuddered just thinking about the two middle blockers in their element, glad that he was only facing one today.

“You're on,” Renjun replied, eyes narrowed. They were somewhat at a disadvantage; Alexander and Joshua were two of the tallest players on the team. But if Renjun had faith that they would win, Donghyuck would try his hardest to make that happen.

It helped that Renjun loved victory sex.

The other team started with the ball, throwing it over the net. Jisung received it perfectly, and Donghyuck set the ball up for a quick. Jisung faltered when Alexander leapt for the block but managed to tap it over his enormous hands. Alexander ran back for the attack, and Jisung fell for it, leaving Joshua open to slam it down.

Renjun picked up the ball with his foot, and Donghyuck jumped up to set the ball to Jisung, quickly changing to a dump at the last second.

Both Joshua and Lucas dove for the ball, missing it by millimetres. Jisung giggled happily and high-fived Donghyuck. Joshua rolled his eyes but reached under the net for Jisung to slap his hand, too. His delight was contagious.

If they could serve, the other team wouldn’t stand a chance, with Jisung’s powerful jump serves and Donghyuck’s tricky jump floaters. Plus, they had Renjun on their side, who could receive any serve expertly, and was fast enough to reach any point on the court. But there was no serving in this practice match, and they could barely keep their lead, only one or two points ahead throughout the match.

Jisung was pushing himself to the limit, jumping for every block, spiking again and again every time Alexander tried to shut him down. Donghyuck tried his best to keep up with Jisung, secretly proud of the determination burning in the younger’s eyes. When Jisung had first joined the team, he was skillful, but not dedicated. He didn’t like to push himself whenever it was unnecessary. Now, every practice match, every drill, every game mattered. Jisung had almost as many bruises as Renjun.

They stopped the match when the score went up to 32 - 32. Jisung was drenched in sweat, his hair and shirt plastered to his skin. Even Renjun, with his practically endless stamina, was breathing hard. Playing against a skilled middle blocker, an experienced setter, and their formidable captain was exhausting.

“Good game,” Joshua said, slapping their hands. He was barely even sweating. Donghyuck scowled. “Aw, don't be like that, Donghyuckie.”

It had taken a long time for Joshua to be able to pronounce Donghyuck’s name. Most people referred to him by his English name, Donny, or butchered the pronunciation. But Joshua had been stubborn and practiced saying Donghyuck’s name until he could say it perfectly.

(“What kind of a captain would I be if I couldn't pronounce your names?”)

“You're barely even breathing hard, you freak,” Donghyuck grumbled.

“It's because I work out, unlike you,” Joshua replied, sticking his tongue out childishly.

“Volleyball is enough exercise for me,” Donghyuck said, crossing his arms in an ‘X’ in front of him as if he was blocking out fitness. “I only work out when the coach wants me to.”

“You and Renjun are total opposites,” Lucas said, laughing. Donghyuck only shrugged. It was true; Renjun went to the gym four times a week and Donghyuck went once a month.

Actually, Renjun was just a lot more intense than Donghyuck when it came to volleyball. Once upon a time (first year) Donghyuck had thought he was the most dedicated volleyball player at Heather View, but Renjun was quick to prove him wrong. The libero often trained until he puked, and then kept going.

Practice ended with the coach warning them not to overdo it. Coach Ferres often liked to stay on the sidelines and let Joshua lead practice, only taking over when he thought they needed the guidance.

“Good news! Someone has applied for the managerial position. He will be monitoring your skills and play, collecting data for later purposes. It'll be helpful to know your strengths and weaknesses before your first game,” the coach said.

Donghyuck blinked and shared a look with Renjun. It wasn't often that a male applied to be the manager of the team. It was usually older female students looking to boost their university application or job resume.

“What's his name?” Lucas asked curiously, stretching out his arms. Donghyuck immediately dropped to the ground to begin his own stretches. The coach checked his clipboard.

“Mark Lee.”

🏀

“So, I heard you're gonna be the volleyball team’s manager.”

Mark looked up from his textbook when Yukhei dropped into one of the shitty plastic cafeteria chairs next to him.

“Yeah,” Mark said absentmindedly, already reading over the next passage in his book and writing out careful notes in his notebook. “What about it?”

“I didn't know you even knew anything about volleyball,” Yukhei replied, fiddling with Mark’s highlighters. “Beyond first year PE, anyway.”

“I like volleyball.” Mark drew a diagram in his book without looking at Yukhei.

“You like football too, but you didn't want to be our manager,” Yukhei complained, leaning over Mark’s arm to erase and fix his diagram. “Are you in the caf every morning?”

“I come here to study most mornings,” Mark explained, glancing at the clock and beginning to pack up. He felt like grabbing breakfast from the cafe across the street before class started. Yukhei helped, sliding his pens into his pencil case and holding out Mark’s backpack for him. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to talk to Mrs. Hernandez about spirit wear,” Yukhei said. “She and Mr. Hernandez are usually here in the mornings.”

“I haven't seen her,” Mark told him. “I know you're president and everything, but you should take a break.”

Yukhei looked exhausted. There were dark circles prominent under his eyes and his smile didn't have the same dazzling quality. “There's just so much to be done. After Minho left his legacy, I can't fail to measure up.”

Minho Choi was Heather View’s most iconic student body president. He brought attention to Heather View, and made the students love their school. Minho had taken school spirit to a whole new level, and had gone on to play football for Duke University.

“You're only human,” Mark reminded him. Yukhei offered him a soft smile and slumped in his seat.

“I really need a nap,” he groaned. “Wake me up if Mrs. Hernandez gets here.”

“I will,” Mark promised, forgetting about grabbing breakfast. Seconds later, Yukhei stood up from his seat and slid behind Mark in his own chair. It was a tight fit, but Mark couldn't find it in himself to protest when Yukhei hugged him from behind and rested his head on Mark’s shoulder.

Out of all his friends, it was Yukhei he was closest to. But Yukhei was often either really busy or really oblivious; he didn't notice whenever Mark was left out or uninvited to plans. Mark couldn't resent him for it—Yukhei once sliced his hand open making breakfast and didn't realize until he'd shown up at school, blood staining his uniform.

Mark brought his attention back to his textbook, giving up on getting food or taking notes. Yukhei was warm against his back, and it made it easier for Mark to focus, settling into Yukhei’s embrace. The president was already asleep, even breaths fanning over Mark’s neck.

The doors to the cafeteria crashed open noisily, and in walked the two volleyball players from yesterday. They clearly had just finished morning practice, hair damp with sweat. One of them still had his knee pads on.

He kept his head down as they fell into the seats of a table only a few feet away. Yukhei’s frame mostly blocked him from view, but he could see and hear everything.

“I can't believe a basketball player’s gonna be our manager,” Hyuck complained loudly. Mark flinched, clutching his mechanical pencil tightly in his grip.

“Well, he must be somewhat qualified,” Jun replied. “Then again, maybe Coach was really desperate. We didn't even have a manager last year, Donghyuck.”

“It's stupid,” Donghyuck muttered darkly. “Basketball and volleyball just don't mix. Especially since the basketball team is the reason we couldn't get new balls this year.”

Mark knew that most of the volleyball team disliked the basketball team. It was expected; the basketball team received way more funding.

But still, he hadn't expected Donghyuck to sound so disgusted.

🏀

He could feel the stares of the volleyball team as he stood patiently next to their coach’s side. Their gazes burned into him, sliding over every centimeter of his frame until he felt the need to hide. Mark kept his own eyes on his own shoes; basketball shoes to their volleyball shoes.

“This is Mark,” the volleyball coach introduced him. “Starting today, he will be the manager of this team. Please treat him kindly and welcome him with open arms.”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Mark offered, smiling warmly. The volleyball players looked at each other and a tall curly-haired man with dark skin stepped forward.

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Josh, the captain of this team and a senior,” he grinned, reaching to shake Mark’s hand. Mark met him halfway, relieved. “The twins are Nikolai and Alexander, juniors. They’re middle blockers. Nikolai is #10, and Alexander is #11.”

Mark nodded, watching as they both gave him matching smiles. One of them, Nikolai, clapped Donghyuck and Renjun on the back, hard enough that they both stumbled.

“These two third years are Donny and Jun. Donny’s the setter and Jun’s the libero. Oh, wait, but you’d be able to pronounce their real names since you’re from their country, right?”

“I was born in Canada,” Mark clarified awkwardly, deciding not to bring up how Renjun was clearly from China and not Korea, “but yeah I can pronounce their names. Donghyuck and Renjun, right?”

The setter gave him a short nod, but that was it. Mark flushed and resolved to just stay out of his and Renjun’s way.

“From where in Canada did you come?” A tall, dark-haired boy asked shyly, hiding behind Renjun, as if his form could fit behind the shorter male. “Oh, I’m Jasper, second year.”

“I’m from Vancouver, but I was born in Toronto. What about you?”

He lit up. “I’m from Toronto! My real name’s Jisung.”

Jisung was really cute. Mark thought they could be friends. He was quickly introduced to the rest of the team. Lucas, another setter; Wilson, Isaac, and Xavier, wing spikers; Léo, the team’s ace. The team was so loud and playful, completely unlike his own sports team.

But once practice began, they took it seriously. In fact, they went all out for a team whose season hadn't even begun yet. Mark took out a notebook and compiled notes on each member of the team, and even wrote about their dynamics.

He chewed on his pen while he observed the team doing their spike lines. While it was obvious that Donghyuck was by far the better setter, Lucas kept up. Nikolai and Alexander, their height combined with their jumping power, liked to spike above the block. Wilson tended to favor feints, and Léo broke through the block by sheer force.

Mark raised an eyebrow when Renjun joined the end of the spike line. Donghyuck seemed surprised too, but when it was Renjun's turn to spike he set the ball high.

“Toss miss?” Mark murmured to himself, just as Renjun sprung up and slammed the ball down on the other side of the court. He almost dropped his notebook. His pen slipped from his fingers and rolled under the bleachers. Digging a new one out of his pencil case, Mark watched Renjun jog to the end of the court as the rest of the team lined up to practice their serves. His mind was still reeling from the shock. Renjun’s vertical was well over a meter, and he had no problem spiking the ball past the blockers. For a moment, Mark wondered why Renjun was the libero.

He quickly erased that thought when the team began serving, one at a time, and Renjun skillfully received every single one. Whether it was Léo’s or Jisung’s powerful jump serves, or Donghyuck’s jump floaters, he managed to get the ball up. Even when one of Jisung’s serves hit the net and just barely made it over, Renjun kept it in the air.

Speed, stamina, power, quick reflexes, high jump. Renjun really had it all. As they organized themselves into teams, Mark found himself leaning forward to watch. At least, watching was all he was planning to do until the coach called him over.

“Do you know how to play?”

“Not…to this extent,” Mark said, flushing when Donghyuck gave him an icy look.

“We just need someone to fill in,” the coach said dismissively, “since Hunni, another spiker, isn’t here.”

“Right,” Mark replied lamely. “Um, I don't want to hinder the team’s practice.”

Sensing his hesitation, the supervisor quickly interrupted. “Mark hasn't warmed up, and I'm sure it'd be more beneficial if he watched today.”

The coach nodded. “Ah, yes you're right. Okay, I guess they can make do with five players.”

Relieved, Mark went back to his seat, picking up his notebook. He didn't miss Donghyuck’s eyes on him as he went.

🏐

“Because this is the advanced class, you will begin your culminating task now and will have until the end of the semester to complete it.”

Ms. Fuentes passed around the project outlines and criteria. Renjun skimmed over the guidelines. The culminating task was to create a cookbook with original or adapted recipes. Renjun hummed appreciatively, but faltered when he caught sight of the word ‘partner’. He wished, not for the first time, that Donghyuck had taken this class instead of Piano III.

“Due to limited workspaces, you will be partnered up to do this project. Twenty students and ten workspaces. I'm afraid that you won't be choosing your partners.”

There was a collective groan, but Ms. Fuentes only smiled apologetically and began pairing up the students. Renjun sighed as the two people he knew in this class were paired together.

“Mark Lee and Jun Huang.”

Huh. Renjun whipped his head around and stared at the basketball player sitting at the back of the class. Mark looked rather startled himself, so Renjun took the initiative and walked over.

“Guess we’ll be working together,” Renjun said, eyeing Mark critically. For someone taller than Renjun, he sure as hell looked short right now.

“Guess so,” Mark murmured back. Renjun almost let out a sigh, but caught himself before he could. What was that about not following stereotypes? Seemed like every basketball player at Heather View had IQs lower than their verticals. Renjun was wondering if he'd have to do this whole project on his own. when Mark interrupted his thoughts. “Um, have you had a chance to look at the outline?”

“Yeah, of course,” Renjun answered, barely refraining from rolling his eyes.

Mark sank lower in his chair, gaze on the papers in front of him. “I, um, had some ideas.”

Now that got Renjun’s attention. “Okay, spill.”

Mark sat up straighter. “Well, I'm Korean, but I'm also Canadian, and you're Chinese...and we’re the only Asians in this class, so we could do an amalgamation of our cultures.”

“That's...actually good.” Renjun was surprised, and he couldn't stop it from showing on his face. He leaned in closer, interested.

“And,” Mark continued, “we could film us cooking recipes, put them up on YouTube, and put QR codes linking to each video on every recipe page.” He started writing down his ideas and drew up a materials list before stopping short and looking up. Their eyes met and Mark turned red, stuttering to a halt. Renjun took pity on him and pulled back, instead directing his attention on the papers Mark was looking at.

“We can refine the recipes in class, but for filming we’d need a quieter location. And with better lighting.” He eyed the yellow lights in the ceiling with distaste.

“Wait, really?” Mark asked, before backtracking and instead focusing on highlighting the requirements of the project. “Uh, we could film at my house. My kitchen is pretty big, and… windows.”

“Really what?” Renjun said, picking up one of Mark’s highlighters and copying his paper. “Thirty pages minimum, shit.”

“Just…thought maybe you'd rather use one of your own ideas.”

“Your ideas are good,” Renjun said firmly. “So we’re gonna use yours. Okay?”

“Okay,” Mark replied, seeming embarrassed but pleased.

“Okay,” Renjun repeated. “If we’re gonna do this,” he picked up Mark’s materials list, mostly blank, “we’re gonna need a lot of shit. Ingredients, mostly. I know the school will reimburse us for things we buy for class, but what about the stuff we do at yours?”

“I can pay for those,” Mark said. When Renjun looked at him, he added, “I have a job.”

“I'll help pay, too,” Renjun frowned. “I guess we’re kind of weird for wanting to spend money on a school project.”

“Going beyond the limitations is more fun,” Mark muttered, mostly to himself, but Renjun heard anyway.

“That's…exactly it,” Renjun said in amazement. “I don't think anyone else gets it. Not even Hyuck, sometimes.” He mentioned his boyfriend without even thinking about it, but Mark just nodded. Right, he was the volleyball team’s manager, now. He knew who Donghyuck was.

Mark smiled at him, a real smile that showed gums and made his eyes crinkle. It looked out of place on his normally serious face, but at the same time, it fit him perfectly. He actually looked kind of cute. Renjun got so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize Mark had begun speaking again.

“We’ll need a camera, for both pictures and videos. I have a few at home, but I'd rather not bring them to school,” Mark was saying. Renjun forced himself to focus, writing ‘camera(s)’ on the list of materials.

“We could borrow some from the Arts department,” Renjun pointed out.

Mark brightened visibly. “Yeah, that's a good idea! My friend Yukhei is in the Photography class, he could talk the teacher into letting us use a few. I have a portable lighting kit that I could bring in, and Ms. Fuentes could lock it up for us.”

“You have a portable lighting kit?”

“I…like art.”

“You more than like it if you have all of this equipment. What, you got your own studio or something?” When Mark didn't answer, he stopped teasing. “Wait, seriously?”

“It's a home studio,” Mark rushed to explain. “Like, just something to fuck around in when I'm bored.”

“So you've got all the editing programs?”

Mark’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! I've got both Sony Vegas Pro and After Effects, since I can't decide which I like better. And I have Premiere and Final Cut Pro, too.”

Renjun laughed. “You're a total nerd! But it'll come in handy for this project. You'll have to show me your studio setup.”

“Y-Yeah, of course. You'll have to see it anyway, since we are working together.”

“I'm looking forward to it,” Renjun said, smiling easily. “Got any more ideas?”

As Mark started talking about getting their cookbook professionally printed and assembled, Renjun wrote up plans and started outlining the contents of their cookbook. He couldn't help but laugh when his partner got so excited.

Mark Lee was really nothing like he expected.

🏀

Mark was in the middle of warming up when he caught sight of familiar curls sticking out from the crowd as the six foot tall class president attempted to ascend the bleachers.

“Yukhei!” He called, and watched Yukhei spin around and grin delightedly when he caught sight of Mark. He bounded down the steps of the bleachers, limbs flailing to keep his balance. Mark caught him before he could fall, and Yukhei hugged him quickly.

“Hi!” Yukhei greeted. “Wow, it's so full in here.”

Mark laughed. “I think you're the only one here for me.”

Yukhei bit his lip. “The others couldn't come. Yuta wanted to see a movie, and they all bought tickets for the after school showing.”

“If they had waited, we could have all gone together,” Mark muttered, but smiled at Yukhei anyway. “Thanks for coming, I know you have a lot of work.”

“I finished it during lunch!” Yukhei beamed. “There's no way I'm missing your first game.” Yukhei working through lunch meant he didn't eat, so Mark caught him by the elbow before he could go back up.

“Let’s get hot pot after this. I'll treat you,” Mark offered. Yukhei nodded happily, wished Mark good luck, and then bounded up the bleachers. Mark turned back to the court and continued warming up.

“That your boyfriend?” The starting PG and captain, Felix, asked him. Out of all the members on the team, Felix was the nicest. He got pissed whenever the other members gave Mark shit for his race or sexuality.

Mark shook his head. “No, just a friend.”

“Oh wait, he's the president, right?” Mark nodded. “He's kinda cute. Like a puppy.”

Mark laughed. Describing Yukhei as a puppy was probably the most accurate thing anyone could say. He was silly, bumbling, and eager to please. Yukhei had won the presidential campaign by a landslide.

“What do you think of our opponents?” Felix nodded at the other team.

Mark gave it careful consideration. “They're very uniform. Not flashy, no outstanding skill. Each player is capable, but not more than the others.”

“They're rigid,” Felix agreed, “let’s destroy them.” He grinned evilly just as the whistle blew and the teams went to their respective benches.

Mark hoped he’d never have to face Felix as an opponent.

“Okay, it's our first game of the season,” Coach Zack said when the team gathered around, “I’m supposed to say no pressure but I want you to kick their asses.”

“This is our season,” Felix crowed, putting his hand out in the middle of the circle. “If we win championships, I'll take everyone out to dinner. Huskies, on three!”

“One, two, three, Huskies!” The circle broke, and the five starting players jogged out onto the court.

After the tip-off, the other team got first possession. It ended shortly after when Felix snatched the ball from one of the players and took it all the way down the court for an easy lay-up, too quick for any defenders to catch up. Mark grinned; scoring the first basket meant a huge morale boost for the rest of the team.

From that point forward, Mark’s team slowly picked apart the opponents’ offence and defense until they were left with nothing. When the final whistle blew, signalling the end of the game, the score was 67–29.

“Not bad for a first game, huh?!” Felix yelled after they had shaken their opponents’ hands and gathered around their coach. Their coach warned them about getting too cocky, but praised them for their teamwork. Though they weren’t much of a team anywhere else, they were in sync on the court.

“Mark!” Yukhei came flying down the bleachers, tackling Mark into a hug.

“Ack, Yukhei!” Mark spluttered when he got a mouthful of curls. “Jeez, you're lucky I don't sweat much.”

“Hot pot!” Yukhei cheered, ushering Mark into the locker room so he could grab his bag and slide on a pair of sweats. He didn't get the chance to change out of his jersey before he was dragged out the second he shut his locker.

“Jesus, slow down,” Mark said, then promptly tripped over someone’s foot and fell flat on his face.

“Oh shit,” he heard distantly. Rolling over and clutching his nose, Mark saw Renjun standing over him, smiling in amusement.

“Fuck, Yukhei, I’m gonna sue,” Mark groaned, sitting up. His face fucking hurt.

“Renjun was the one who tripped you,” Yukhei pouted. Mark was weak for those puppy dog eyes. Clumsy Yukhei Wong had no business being that cute.

“You alright?” Renjun asked, eyes glittering with mirth.

“Good enough I guess,” Mark grumbled, allowing Yukhei to help him to his feet. “How was practice?”

Renjun shrugged. “Same old. Hyuck had to go home, so it was kinda boring without him.”

Mark opened his mouth to reply when Lucas came running into the hall yelling “Jun!”

“Yes?”

“Jasper’s looking for you,” Lucas said breathlessly, then dashed off, disappearing around the corner. Mark, Yukhei, and Renjun watched him go.

“Jasper? As in Jasper Park?” Yukhei asked, sounding choked up.

“Yeah, you know him?” Renjun asked curiously, and Mark didn't get the chance to tease Yukhei about the blush on his cheeks before Jisung himself came running and collided straight into Renjun, who barely managed to keep them both standing.

“Sungie!” Renjun admonished. “Slow the fuck down!”

“Sorry,” Jisung giggled, but even as Renjun scolded him he was reaching up to fix Jisung’s messy hair. “Was just worried you left. Nobody’s home and I don't have a key.”

“Okay, I'll stay with you then,” Renjun hummed. “It's gonna get dark soon and I don't want you to be by yourself.”

“Wanna join us for dinner?” Mark offered before he could stop himself. He reached back and squeezed Yukhei’s hand. Yukhei squeezed back, and he knew it was okay. More than okay judging by the expression Yukhei had been wearing since Jisung walked in.

Renjun and Jisung exchanged looks. “Sure, where ya going?”

“Lim’s Hot Pot. C’mon, it'll be my treat.”

Jisung lit up, launching himself at Mark like a six foot projectile and hugging him tightly, muttering about how broke he was. It took both Yukhei and Renjun to pry him off.

They exited the school and headed towards the restaurant. Jisung hooked his chin over Mark’s shoulder and made him walk like that.

“Hyung, you won your game?” Jisung asked Korean, and it was both familiar and unfamiliar since he and his mom practiced English at home.

“I did,” he responded. Jisung hummed.

“Renjun-hyung was sure you would win, when I asked him earlier.” Mark startled, glancing at Renjun in surprise. He didn't think Renjun would even give him the time of day, but yesterday, at the end of class, he had asked for Mark’s number. To hear that he was saying nice things about Mark…but Mark knew Donghyuck didn't like him, so maybe Renjun was just being nice?

Jisung shivered, and Mark broke away from his thoughts to take his hoodie out of his bag and hand it to him. Jisung shrugged it on gratefully, playing with the sleeves that covered his hands.

“It's getting colder,” Jisung said sadly, “I miss summer already.”

Mark rolled his eyes. “Look how you're dressed. Of course you're gonna be cold.”

Jisung was wearing a thin muscle tee and was still in his volleyball shorts. Mark’s oversized hoodie came down to mid-thigh, and if Jisung zipped it up it'd look like he wasn't wearing pants.

“But my ass looks great in volleyball shorts,” Jisung said, switching from leaning on Mark’s back to snuggling into his side instead. Mark didn't really have affectionate friends except for Yukhei, and it was weird to him that someone he barely knew was so clingy. Still, he let Jisung do as he pleased until they got to the restaurant.

Mark held the door open for his friends, then for an older lady also entering the restaurant, before following inside. Lim’s Hot Pot was a small family-owned hot pot restaurant that Mark stumbled upon in his first year. He came here so often that the owners and staff knew him by name.

“Mark!” Sure enough, one of the waiters, Jaemin, came running up to him. His mother was friends with Mrs. Lim, and he volunteered his time whenever he was free. Mark usually helped out in the summer.

“Hi Jaemin,” Mark greeted. He wished Jaemin went to HVHS, but Jaemin was an uptown kid. “Table for four?”

“Sure thing. How's school going?” Jaemin asked, leading them to an empty table and starting up the hot pot.

“Pretty good. I'm on the basketball team again.”

“Yeah? I'll be sure to bring everyone to the finals,” Jaemin teased. Everyone meant Jaemin’s parents, Jaemin’s brother, Mr. and Mrs. Lim, and the Lims’ children.

“Who says we’ll make finals?” Mark retorted, pulling out a seat for Yukhei before taking his own. Renjun and Jisung sat across from them, bickering about something volleyball-related.

Jaemin rolled his eyes. “You always make finals.” He began walking away.

“You forgot to take our order!” Mark called jokingly.

“You forgot to take our order,” Jaemin mimicked, sticking up his middle finger before disappearing into the kitchen. Mark grinned.

“He'll be back with literal trays of food,” he explained to the others.

Sure enough, twenty minutes later Jaemin came back with two trays full of food, Mrs. Lim behind him carrying another two. Mark stood up and took the trays from her before engulfing her in a hug.

“Hi, Mrs. Lim, you're looking well!” Mark said happily. Mrs. Lim only rolled her eyes and shoved him back into his seat.

“Don't try and butter me up, boy,” she grumbled. Mrs. Lim turned to the others. “Yukhei! It's been so long, dear. How are you?”

“I’m great, Mrs. Lim!” Yukhei said, and his bright smile made up for the dark circles pressed under his eyes. Yukhei grabbed Mark’s hand beneath the table. Mark resigned himself to a meal of eating with his non-dominant hand.

“If only my son was as charming as you,” Mrs. Lim sighed. Mark couldn’t help but snort a little. Danny Lim was a handsome, older man in his second year of medical school. He was already engaged, and set to get married in the upcoming spring. Yukhei, who had been single since birth, could learn a thing or two from her son.

Jaemin sighed, in perfect imitation of Mrs. Lim. “I better get back to work. Anything you need me to do, Mrs. Lim?”

Mrs. Lim rolled her eyes. “Just remember to grab your things once you leave. You can sit with your friends, you don't actually work here.”

“Yeah but I’ve got so many community service hours,” Jaemin grinned, placing the first strips of beef on the grill. Renjun was adding spices to the broth, then he mixed in a ton of vegetables and clear noodles. Mark, who was used to cooking for his friends, felt a little useless as he just sat there.

Eventually, Mrs. Lim had to go back to work, but not before she gave Yukhei a long lecture about remembering to come visit. Mark thought she was going to kidnap Jisung, who had eagerly exclaimed about the taste of the food in such a genuine way that made everyone soft on him. He kind of wanted to keep Jisung for himself.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” Renjun cooed, pinching Jisung’s cheek. Jisung scrunched his nose up but tolerated it good naturedly. He was easily consoled when Renjun piled food onto his plate.

Mark learned a lot about Renjun in the two hours they spent at the restaurant. He learned about Renjun’s middle school, where he grew up and how he met Donghyuck. Mark wanted to know more, but Yukhei was leaning heavily against his side, head lolling on Mark’s shoulder as he dozed off in the middle of his sentence.

“I better take this loser home,” Mark said finally. “Yukhei, wake up so I can help Jaemin clean.”

“Nah, it’s okay.” Jaemin waved him off. “Just take the poor guy and go.”

Yukhei blinked awake, pouting sleepily with his eyebrows furrowed. Jisung giggled and reached over to clasp Yukhei’s cheeks in his hands. Yukhei startled, no longer looking sleepy, and pulled away, his ears turning bright red. Mark snorted at him.

“Let’s go, Sleeping Beauty.” He hauled Yukhei out of his seat, helping him shrug on his backpack. Yukhei groaned and pushed his face into Mark’s shoulder. “Yeah, yeah, you big baby. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

“Hyung, your sweater,” Jisung said, struggling to pull his arms out of the sleeves.

“Just bring it back tomorrow, I don’t want you to freeze. And for God’s sake, put on some pants.”

“Goodnight, Mark,” Renjun murmured. Mark smiled and gave him a little wave, saying goodbye to Jisung and Jaemin, wrapping his arm around Yukhei’s waist and guiding him out of the restaurant.

Walking Yukhei home was a pain because they lived in opposite directions, but there was no way he’d let Yukhei walk home by himself when he could barely keep his eyes open.

“Renjun and Jisung are really nice,” Yukhei mumbled.

“You seem to think Jisung is more than nice,” Mark teased, and Yukhei is too tired to fight the blush spreading across his cheeks.

“And you think Renjun is nice.”

Mark’s breath caught in his throat. “I don’t—what are you talking about?”

Yukhei rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on! Anyone can see from the way you look at him.”

“Shut up!” Mark hissed, looking around as if Renjun (or Donghyuck) was somewhere nearby. “I just admire him, that’s all.”

“Sure, admire him,” Yukhei agreed sarcastically. Mark scowled at him. For someone who was practically dead when they were at the restaurant, Yukhei was pretty fucking awake now. Why was Mark walking him home again?

“I will shove you in a trash can,” Mark said, smacking Yukhei in the back of the head. “Don’t touch me.”

“Ouch,” Yukhei whined, sticking out his lower lip. “You bully me so much.”

“You’re a brat,” Mark replied exasperatedly, but he still let Yukhei cling onto him as he walked him home.

“Please get some sleep tonight,” Mark said when they arrived at Yukhei’s house. Yukhei laughed and shrugged in the way that meant he wasn’t going to do what Mark said but he wasn’t going to say that outright.

When Mark got home, he collapsed in his desk chair, pulling out his textbooks and trying to forget Yukhei’s words before Mark dropped him off.

“Anyone can see from the way you look at him.”

It wouldn’t do to have a crush, especially not on a taken man.

🏐

Donghyuck’s stomach growled at him as he rummaged through the fridge for anything that wasn’t spoiled or a condiment. Giving up, he sighed and slammed the door shut.

Donghyun had forgotten to go grocery shopping again, so there was nothing for him to eat before morning practice. It wasn’t the first time and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. He often forgot about Donghyuck in general, leaving him to fend for himself most days.

“At least I get to see Renjun,” Donghyuck said to himself as he shoved his feet into his shoes and walked out the door, checking twice to make sure it was locked. He didn’t live in the best neighbourhood, and god knew what he would do if someone stole what little valuable possessions he had.

His gym bag banged against his thigh as he walked towards the school, a rhythmic thumping that he concentrated on while he walked. He would listen to music, but his earphones had broken and he hadn’t gotten the money to replace them yet.

“Morning,” Renjun greeted sleepily when Donghyuck walked into the locker room, more than half an hour later.

“G’morning,” Donghyuck responded, planting a kiss on Renjun’s forehead. Renjun scrunched his face up and pulled away.

“Ugh,” Renjun joked, sticking his tongue out, “affection.”

“You love it,” Donghyuck teased, flinging his bag on the ground and taking out his knee pads. He got ready in record time, and he and Renjun headed into the gym to set up the net.

To their surprise, it was already set up, and Mark walked in carrying the heavy water dispenser from the storage room, which he had evidently filled up, according to the sloshing sounds.

“Oh! Good morning!” Mark greeted, placing the water dispenser on the table in the corner. “You guys are here early.”

“We’re always early.” Mark nodded, and Donghyuck couldn’t tell if he hadn’t noticed the snark, or was just plainly ignoring it.

“You’re setting up?” Renjun was much nicer.

“Yeah. Wasn’t exactly sure what counted as managerial duties so…” Mark shrugged. “I figured I should try to be a little less useless.”

He looked back at them and smiled sheepishly, and Donghyuck felt bad for being a dick.

“Do you play volleyball?” Donghyuck asked, trying to make conversation. He heard Renjun muffle a snort and scowled at his feet.

Mark shook his head vehemently. “No way, volleyball is too difficult for me. My only experience is watching Haikyuu!! throughout my second year.”

Donghyuck had heard of Haikyuu!! but had never made the effort to watch it. Now, he regretted not taking the time as Renjun’s eyes lit up and he sidled over to Mark, rapidly talking about the character development in the show. Still, it made Donghyuck happy to see Renjun happy, so he warmed up by himself for a few minutes.

Seeing Renjun warm up to someone so easily was so strange, especially since it had taken Donghyuck a long time to get Renjun to be more open with him when they first became friends. It made him feel kind of funny in a sense, not jealous, but just…strange. Like he was an outsider looking in, but in a good way.

He thought about it as he practiced setting the ball. He liked nothing more than seeing Renjun happy, and Mark was making Renjun happy, so despite the fact that Donghyuck didn’t necessarily like Mark, he wanted Mark and Renjun to spend time together.

In the corner of his eye, he watched Renjun help Mark learn how to receive, taking his arms and guiding him into the right stance. He smiled to himself as Mark successfully passed the ball back to Renjun because Renjun loved to teach more than anything. Dropping his own ball, he walked over to Renjun and hugged him tightly. His boyfriend was too fucking cute.

“Hyuck, did you see? Mark is learning pretty fast,” Renjun said, smiling and leaning back into Donghyuck’s touch. It was kind of shocking, considering Renjun wasn’t exactly a fan of PDA.

“I saw. You’re a good teacher.”

“Mark is a good student,” Renjun countered, beaming full force at the basketball player. Mark, caught off-guard, smiled helplessly back and abruptly, Donghyuck knew.

Mark liked Renjun.

He immediately tried to force back the possessiveness that rose from the pit of his stomach, holding himself back from curling around Renjun protectively. It wasn’t like he blamed Mark; it was hard not to like Renjun, he was practically perfect.

It never bothered him when he knew other people liked Renjun. He often caught Renjun removing confession letters from his locker, though the libero was never anything more than disinterested. But he could taste jealousy on the tip of his tongue, and he couldn’t understand why.

“Can we start practice now?” Donghyuck murmured, and Renjun nodded, taking the time to warm up a bit more before beginning. Donghyuck began practicing his jump serves, trying to make them harder for Renjun to receive.

Donghyuck’s specialty was the jump floater, and his ordinary jump serves weren’t as powerful as Jisung’s or Josh’s. But he had been practicing his serve enough that targeting came easy; he was able to pinpoint a location on the court and serve the ball there almost every time. This wouldn’t fully inhibit a good team, but it would at least slow them down from delivering powerful attacks before his own team was ready to defend.

It made Donghyuck proud that the entire team could serve extraordinarily well. For the most part, they had no holes. Wilson and Léo weren’t the strongest receivers, but they could hold their own, and most teams had only one or two players who could pinpoint their serves. If Donghyuck was honest, he’d say they pretty much had the championship in the bag.

However, as he practiced, he found that it was harder to concentrate. For some reason, his eyes kept trailing over to where Mark was standing, writing something down in a notebook. His notebook was covered in bunnies wearing basketball gear. Donghyuck fought the urge to smile when he caught sight of it. He tossed up the ball and stepped forward, bringing his arms back just as he brought his feet together, then launched himself upwards, pulling his right arm back behind his head and meeting the ball at the height of the toss.

Every time Donghyuck served, time seemed to slow down until nothing mattered but him and the ball. He could see the court on the other side, he could see Renjun ready to receive the ball, but most importantly, he could see where he needed to serve it. But for a fraction of a second, he caught Mark watching him and faltered in his swing. He hit the ball with the side of his hand, and it soared out of bounds. Donghyuck landed harshly on both feet, heard nothing but blood rushing in his ears. He could see Renjun’s mouth moving, but all he could focus on was the ball rolling away.

He missed the serve.

Donghyuck hadn’t missed a serve in years. Even back in grade school, he had perfected the underhand serve on his first try. Sure, some of his serves were shitty, and some of them barely made it over the net, but he hadn’t missed a serve in so long, he had forgotten how disappointing it felt. How crushing. The serve was one of the most important skills. The game couldn’t start without a serve, and Donghyuck had missed. Everything had been perfect. The toss, his footwork. It was only his concentration that had been broken.

“Hyuck? Are you okay?” Renjun’s voice filtered through his ears. He couldn’t look away from the ball. Why was it bothering him so much?

“Donghyuck?” He heard Mark say, and oh. That was why. Because it wasn’t just anything, or anyone that broke his concentration.

It was Mark.

A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and he flinched, whirling around to see Mark staring at him, brows furrowed with concern. Donghyuck jerked back, putting as much distance as possible between him and their manager.

“Don’t touch me,” Donghyuck snarled. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth with his hands as he realized what he had done. Hurt flickered across Mark’s face before it smoothed out into neutrality.

“Hyuck—“ Renjun started, but just as he made to duck under the net, the doors to the gymnasium burst open and in came Jisung, Josh, Wilson, Xavier, and Hunni. They were already in their practice jerseys, and their loud bickering was enough distraction for Donghyuck to slip away, pulling his water bottle out of his bag and taking a swig even though he wasn’t thirsty. By the time he lowered the bottle, Mark was monitoring the warm-ups and Renjun was staring at him with an unreadable expression.

“Let’s do some serve-and-receive and then spike drills?” Josh suggested once everyone had finished warming up. Donghyuck grabbed a ball from the cart and went on the opposite end from Renjun, who was starting with receives.

This time when he served, he refused to look at Mark, and slammed the ball perfectly over the net to the other side of the court.

🏀

Mark checked his phone for the ninth time in the twenty minutes since the bell rang, signifying the end of class. He was supposed to be meeting his friends, but after another five minutes with no new texts and no sight of them, he got up from his usual picnic table. Today was the one day he didn’t have to go to basketball practice or volleyball practice, or have enough homework to cripple him, and he had wasted it waiting for people who didn’t even bother sending him a message.

Dusting off his pants, he picked up his bag and walked past the front doors of the school. Unfortunately, just as he stepped past, someone slammed the door open, sending him flying backwards. He landed hard on his ass, shouting in pain.

“Oh fuck, I am so sorry.” He heard Renjun say loudly. He looked up to see Donghyuck and Renjun standing there with twin expressions of horror.

“This is the second time you’ve knocked me down,” Mark found himself saying as Renjun helped him to his feet. He wiped his hands and his pants free, wincing when gravel bit into his scraped up palms.

“Your hands are bleeding,” Donghyuck said, frowning. Renjun grabbed one of his hands and sure enough, it was bleeding sluggishly.

“I have a first aid kit in my bag,” Renjun said, shrugging off his backpack and digging through it. He pulled out a little red bag with a triumphant noise, pushing Mark to sit down on the bench, holding his palms up. He picked up an alcohol pad and ripped it open. “Hold still, this is gonna hurt.”

To everyone’s surprise, Donghyuck reached around Renjun to grab Mark’s wrists, preventing him from jerking away as the alcohol stung his cuts. Mark hissed under his breath as Renjun cleaned away the dirt and gravel.

“I’m really sorry again,” Renjun said woefully, after he finished covering the biggest scrapes. Mark shrugged, shoving his hands into his pocket as soon as Donghyuck let go, eyeing him warily. Ever since Donghyuck had snapped at him yesterday morning at practice, Mark steered clear of him.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mark said finally, when Renjun stared expectantly in silence. Donghyuck sneezed. He sounded like a puppy. The way he shook his head a little after he sneezed reminded Mark of a puppy. Renjun was already pulling out tissues from his pocket and handing it over.

“What are you still doing here? Got practice or something?”

“I was waiting for my friends, but I think they left without me.” Mark chuckled dryly, flexing his hands in his pockets and feeling the way the tape stretched his skin. He stood up from the bench. “Thanks for playing nurse.”

“Sorry for hitting you with the door,” Donghyuck said quietly. “Well, sorry Jun hit you with the door.”

Renjun pinched Donghyuck in the side. Donghyuck shrieked and darted away, then Renjun turned back to Mark. “We’re going out for boba, you wanna come with?”

Mark just stared in shock for a moment. They’re offering to spend time with me? Voluntarily? I thought they hated me. Or at least, Donghyuck did. Does? “Uh, yeah, I’d love to. Where are we going?”

“Kuma’s Cafe,” Renjun replied. “We’ll need to take the bus, do you have a pass?”

“Yeah!” Mark pulled out his bus pass, a monthly one that he bought even though he rarely used public transit. If he didn’t walk, he drove his car, but most places were within walking distance. He mostly used his bus pass when his friends were busing places.

“What is that?” Donghyuck said, grabbing Mark’s pass out of his hands. Startled, Mark just let it go, watching as Donghyuck examined the pass carefully.

“It’s a monthly bus pass,” Mark explained. “You can buy them from the bus station or some convenience stores.”

“You don’t have a school-issued bus pass?” Renjun asked, pulling his own out of his pocket. It was a laminated card with his student picture and name printed on it.

Mark shrugged. “I live pretty close to the school, I didn’t need a bus pass.”

“Then why do you have this?” Donghyuck waved the pass in the air, the silver sticker glinting in the sunlight.

“Oh, well, my friends usually take the bus and I hate when they bus by themselves, so I just go with them. It’s better for the environment than me using my car all the time.”

Renjun and Donghyuck exchanged looks, but Mark had no idea what they meant. It seemed like they could read each other’s minds. He wished he had something like that with someone. Donghyuck handed his pass back silently.

“Wasn’t aware that you cared so much about the environment,” Renjun commented casually as they started toward the bus stop.

“Oh, I’m super passionate about the environment!” Mark said excitedly. “My mom and I like to watch documentaries whenever she’s home, and we saw a ton about plastic in the ocean and stuff. I try to produce as minimal waste as possible, but you know. It’s hard sometimes. I guess I’m a little lazy.”

“Are you in the enviro-club then?” Renjun asked, skipping ahead to stop directly in front of the bus stop, spinning on his heel with a bright smile on his face. Mark felt his heart skip a beat, and he mentally kicked himself.

“Nah, meetings conflict with basketball,” Mark said with a sigh. “It sucks because they’re going on a big camping trip over the winter break, but I have training camp.”

“Training camp?” Donghyuck asked.

“Yeah, it’s when we travel to another district and train with other schools for a few days. You guys don’t have that? I know basketball and football do.”

Donghyuck scoffed. “I doubt we even have the budget for that. We can’t even get new uniforms.”

“Are you serious?” Mark asked. “That’s totally unfair! I can talk to Yukhei, he can bring it up at the next student trustee meeting.”

Renjun snorted. “It’s fine. I doubt they’d allocate any more funds to us. Anyway, the bus is here.”

That signalled the end of the conversation. Renjun and Donghyuck stood together, only a few steps away from Mark, but it felt like miles. Still, Mark tried to keep an optimistic attitude as he climbed onto the bus after them.

“Good afternoon,” he said quietly to the bus driver, flashing his pass. He followed Renjun and Donghyuck to the back of the bus, where they sat together in a two seater. Mark sat behind them, sliding his backpack off and placing it in his lap.

Renjun and Donghyuck began discussing a show Mark had never heard of, but he was content to just listen as they bickered over the best characters as he stared out the window. He wondered why they even invited him along. Did they feel guilty because Mark scraped his hands? The wounds were so shallow, though, they’d probably be healed by his next practice. He examined his hands now, neatly covered by bandages and medical tape. He still remembered the way Renjun had smoothed down, and the heat of Donghyuck’s hands as they clamped around his wrists.

“Have you seen InuYasha, Mark?” Donghyuck’s voice startled him out of his daze, and he quickly lowered his hands. Renjun and Donghyuck were both peering over the back of the seats, watching him curiously.

“Uhh, a couple episodes when I was younger, maybe.”

“So you’ve seen Haikyuu!! but not InuYasha?” Renjun asked. “Are you just a sports anime fan, then?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Mark admitted.

“So you must have seen Kuroko no Basuke, then,” Renjun said, twisting so he had his back against the window, propping himself up higher.

“I have!” Mark exclaimed. “It’s not very accurate, but it is entertaining.”

Renjun grinned. “Yeah, the Generation of Miracles is OP as fuck, but it’s pretty fun. Aren’t you in the same position as Kagami?”

“Yeah, I’m playing power forward this year.” Mark glanced at Donghyuck, nervous about his silence, but Donghyuck had his chin propped on the back of the seat, watching Renjun as he spoke. He looked at Renjun like he was his entire world. Mark felt like he was intruding on something private, so he trained his gaze out the window as he and Renjun talked about their favourite arcs.

Eventually, Renjun and Donghyuck began discussing another movie that Mark hadn’t even heard of, a volleyball-centric movie apparently. Without knowing the context, Mark resorted to just listening again, leaning against the window. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he opened it up to see a text from Yuta.

yuta

hey mark! i forgot to tell you but most of us had to cancel so we just decided to hang another time. sorry if you waited for us.

3:47 pm

Mark just sighed, shoving his phone back into his pocket without bothering to reply. He doubted Yuta would lose any sleep over it. At least he had texted. There had been times when nobody said anything at all, leaving Mark to wonder where they had been. He honestly needed better friends, but he didn’t really have the energy to talk to new people. Besides, it wasn’t like he wasn’t fine with being alone, most days. It wasn’t a big deal to him.

When he looked out the window, he realized that they were close to the beach. Renjun pulled the cord, and when the bus lurched to a stop, they immediately scrambled for the door, calling out “thank you”s over their shoulders as they hopped onto the curb.

“Kuma’s is this way.” Renjun pointed up the street. “You’ve never been, right?”

Mark shook his head. “Nope, my friends and I usually get Gong Cha or something.”

Renjun pulled a face. “I don’t like chain boba shops.”

Huh. So Renjun was a bubble tea snob. Donghyuck immediately launched an argument over the best boba toppings. He was a fan of jellies, it seemed, while Renjun preferred classic tapioca or yogurt bubbles. They argued the entire way to the shop, a small building tucked between a bookstore and an ice cream parlour. Donghyuck called Renjun an uncultured wet sock, and Renjun tried to push him in the street, despite it being empty of cars. Mark just laughed, holding the door open for them as they finally agreed to disagree.

“Thank you,” Renjun said, batting his eyelashes as he entered the shop, Donghyuck on his heels. Mark followed them to a booth, watching as they plopped down on the seats like they owned the place. They must come here a lot.

It was pretty far from the school, but Mark liked the atmosphere. There were Polaroids of customers all over the wall next to them, displaying dates and signatures. On the other side, the wall was lined with shelves stuffed full of books and board games. There was a counter at the back where Mark could see workers making drinks, and the front had huge windows painted with cartoon bears.

“I think I want a lemon yogurt smoothie,” Renjun said, studying the menu like it was a textbook.

“I’ll just have taro,” Donghyuck said. “But I definitely want a snack. Garlic fries?”

“We could get one big order and split it between us three,” Renjun suggested. “If you’re cool with that, Mark?”

“Uh, sure,” Mark replied. “Fries sound good.”

He looked at the menu, eventually deciding on getting taro too. There were a ton of flavours he hadn’t even heard of, but he wasn’t feeling experimental today. Maybe he would come back here. It seemed like a nice place to study, with all the bright lights and the relaxed atmosphere.

A waiter came to take their orders, then collected their menus and left them alone. Mark immediately felt awkward, unsure of what to do or say. Donghyuck, on the other hand, seemed to have no such qualms.

“Wanna see something deeply disturbing?” He asked, and before Mark could reply, Donghyuck shoved his phone screen in his face. It was a video on Twitter of someone using a can opener on the plastic lid of their boba. Mark couldn’t stop from pulling a disgusted face.

“Why would anyone do that?” Mark asked, horrified.

“What?” Renjun asked, leaning into Donghyuck as he turned his phone around to show him the video. “Oh my god, no. Why would you show us that?”

“If I had to see it, you do too,” Donghyuck replied, putting his phone down. “Do you guys wanna play a board game or something?”

“Jenga?” Renjun suggested, and Donghyuck immediately climbed over him, navigating through the crowded tables to get to the shelves. Mark watched him go, but when he turned to Renjun, he was surprised to find the other already staring at him. He felt his cheeks redden without his permission when they made eye contact.

“I’ll have you know, I’m very good at Jenga,” Renjun warned, the teasing lilt to his voice matching the mischievous twinkle in his eye. “And Donghyuck is almost as good.”

“I suck at Jenga,” Mark admitted with a sigh. “But I don’t mind playing. It’s really fun.”

“It’s better with more players,” Donghyuck said, sliding into the booth and placing the jar of blocks on the table. “Jun and I don’t really like hanging out with other people, though.”

The way he phrased it made Mark feel warm inside. He wondered if Donghyuck did it purposely — if Donghyuck didn’t hate him after all. It felt like wistful thinking though, so he cut off that train of thought and helped Renjun set up the tower. They played rock-paper-scissors for the turn rotation, and Mark ended up going last.

Renjun and Donghyuck immediately went for the bottom blocks, leaving the tower to balance on one block in the middle. Mark bit his lip in concentration when it was his turn, slowly tapping out a brick near the top and placing it carefully on top. Renjun tapped his fingers impatiently on the tabletop, during Mark’s turn, then lit up when his own came.

“Watch this,” Donghyuck told Mark, just as Renjun swept his hand across the table in one smooth slice, effectively knocking the bottom block out from under the tower without disrupting the others. Mark gaped in awe as Renjun placed the block on top, a smug smile painted on his lips.

“He mastered it like two years ago, and he does it every time we play with someone new,” Donghyuck explained, expertly sliding another block out from the middle and adding it to the top. “I’ve seen it like a hundred times.”

“Well, I’ve never seen anyone do it, and it was pretty cool to me,” Mark said as he reached for another block. “I don’t think I could do it even if I tried a thousand times.”

“I can’t do it either,” Donghyuck admitted, and Renjun smirked as he leaned back in his seat. Distracted, Mark miscalculated the distance between him and the tower, his hand bumping into the center and sending it crumbling down.

“Wow, Mark, you didn’t even last two turns,” Donghyuck said dryly, and Mark’s ears burned. “When you said you were bad, I didn’t know you meant this bad.”

“I swear I’m usually better,” Mark insisted. “I was just…distracted.”

Donghyuck leaned forward, leering wickedly. His eyes flickered to Renjun before training back on Mark, gaze cold. “Oh? By what?”

Mark froze when it dawned on him. Donghyuck knew. “I—“

“Here you are.” Saved by the waiter. He set a glass in front of each of them, and a basket of garlic fries in the middle of the table. Mark watched as Donghyuck immediately stole Renjun’s drink, taking a sip before sliding it down to Renjun and reaching for his own. He drew his own glass towards him, grateful that he didn’t have to answer Donghyuck’s question.

“Play again?” Renjun asked, but he didn’t wait for their replies before he started assembling the tower. This time, Mark didn’t reach out to help, focusing on his drink instead. He stared at the bubbles at the top, worrying at his lower lip. What if Donghyuck was angry about Mark getting flustered over his boyfriend? It wasn’t like Mark actually did anything, though, so would he really be mad over something like that? But, then again, he was pretty sure Donghyuck already didn’t like him. This had to be icing on the cake.

He sighed, deciding to focus on the game instead. If this was the last time he was going to hang out with Donghyuck and Renjun, he might as well make the most of it.

🏐

“Do you guys wanna go to the beach?” Donghyuck suggested once he had finished his drink and the rest of Renjun’s. They had switched from Jenga to Goldfish, but had given up after it had gotten violent (re: Renjun was a cheater and Donghyuck had bitten him twice). He was shocked that he felt like spending more time with Mark, but he didn’t really want the day to end. He was having a good time, and Renjun obviously was, too.

“The water will be cold, though,” Mark said with a frown, sucking his lower lip between his teeth. He did that a lot, Donghyuck noticed. Not that he was paying attention to Mark Lee’s mouth.

“We don’t have to go in the water,” Donghyuck said, and when he saw that Mark was still hesitant, he turned on his puppy eyes. “Please, I really wanna go.”

To his surprise, it worked, and Mark agreed to go. He thought he was going to have to enlist Renjun’s help, since Mark was clearly whipped for him. It wasn’t like Donghyuck could really blame Mark — he, too, was whipped for Renjun.

Renjun went to go pay, gathering cash from both Mark and Donghyuck and leaving the change in the tip jar, and Mark was nice enough to put away the cards and Jenga blocks. Renjun returned with one of the shop’s Instax Minis and three pieces of film. They cost a dollar each, and he and Renjun always took a photo whenever they came, either keeping them or pinning them on the wall with the others. He didn’t think they would be sharing that tradition with Mark, but he found he didn’t mind so much. After asking a customer to take their photos three times, they each had a Polaroid of the three of them. Donghyuck shoved his in his binder after it had developed and dried, but he watched curiously as Mark carefully put his photo in his wallet, right in the ID window.

“Brr, it’s getting chilly,” Renjun said when they stepped out of the shop. Donghyuck snorted — it was only a few degrees cooler, but Renjun was always sensitive to the cold.

“I have an extra hoodie in my bag if you want,” Mark offered, and dug a sweater out of his stupidly big backpack, passing it over to Renjun who accepted it with a grateful smile. He slipped it on, and Donghyuck helped him straighten out the fabric. It fit okay for the most part, but the sleeves fell past Renjun’s wrists, giving him adorable sweater paws. Donghyuck looked up to catch Mark staring at them, too.

He had no idea what the emotions stirring in his gut were. Jealousy? His jealousy was usually white-hot, not dull and slightly nauseating. He decided not to dwell on it, instead skipping ahead of them.

“It’s like a twenty minute walk,” Donghyuck said, squinting down the road as if he could see the beach that way. He turned to Mark and Renjun. “Or we could take the bus?”

“I don’t mind walking,” Renjun and Mark said simultaneously. They looked at each other in surprise before bursting into laughter.

“You guys share one brain cell,” Donghyuck said with a grin, turning back around. “Last one to the beach has to go in the water!”

And that was the only warning he gave them before he broke into a sprint, charging down the sidewalk with gleeful laughter as Renjun cursed loudly behind him. He heard footsteps as they followed, but he had a head start, and he was faster, the pent up energy from sitting all day in class giving him an extra burst of speed. He reached the path that split off from the sidewalk to the paved trail beside the beach and immediately headed down it, charging down the wooden steps and giggling madly in triumph when his feet touched the sand. Renjun jumped off the last of the steps right behind him, with Mark hot on his heels.

“Damn, you guys are fast,” Mark panted, and Renjun started giggling too, still breathless. The three of them stood there for a moment, trying to catch their breaths and ultimately failing when they kept setting each other off into peals of laughter. “You’re not really gonna make me go in the water, are you?”

“Sorry, Mark. Rules are rules!” Donghyuck said cheerfully. Mark groaned, but after a moment he took off his hoodie, stepped out of his shoes and removed his track pants, leaving him in a t-shirt and basketball shorts.

“I’m only going in up to my knees,” Mark said, and Donghyuck held his hands up as if to say no arguments from me.

Renjun and Donghyuck solemnly marched alongside Mark to the water, as if they were sending him off to war rather than a very cold lake. They both held their hands out in case Mark tried to break for it, but he walked all the way to the edge of the water before he hesitated.

“Any time now, Mark,” Donghyuck teased, waiting for Mark to back out.

“Okay, okay,” Mark replied. He took a deep breath, eyes closed in preparation, then popped them open and charged straight into the lake, shrieking when he touched the cold water. Donghyuck and Renjun exchanged wide eyed glances, neither of them expecting for Mark to actually go in, before bursting into laughter. “Holy shit, it’s so cold!”

“Suck it up, Canada!” Donghyuck called through his tears, clutching at his stomach when his ribs began to ache from laughing so hard. “You should be used to the cold.”

Mark spun around with a scowl, heading towards the shore. Donghyuck saw him look up, make eye contact with him, and felt his cheeks burn. Then, he saw Mark slip, watching as his eyes went wide with panic for a split second before he went down into the water with a loud splash. Renjun was already wading in despite being fully dressed, his laughter replaced by a worried expression as he helped Mark to his feet and the two of them made it back to the sand. Renjun was only wet halfway up his calves, but his shoes were definitely soaked. Mark, on the other hand, was completely drenched, shivering so badly he nearly lost his balance when Renjun let him go.

“Can’t believe I…fell on my ass…” Mark could barely get the words out through his chattering teeth, and eventually just stumbled over to a dry patch of sand away from the water, flopping down like it pained him to stand up. Donghyuck thought it would be funny, to see someone he thought he disliked looking like a drowned rat, but he just felt sick with guilt.

“I’m sorry,” Donghyuck said, sitting down on the sand next to Mark while Renjun ran to grab Mark’s clothes and bags. “I shouldn’t have made you go in the water.”

“Nah,” Mark replied, somehow managing to smile. His lips were starting to turn purple. “You didn’t make me do anything, and it was my fault that I fell, too. I was distracted.”

By Renjun? Donghyuck wanted to ask, but Mark hadn’t been looking at Renjun.

Mark had been looking at Donghyuck.

“Here, I have a gym towel,” Renjun appeared next to Mark, kicking his soggy shoes off, leaving him in wet socks as he wrapped his towel around Mark’s shoulders. Donghyuck wrinkled his nose, because while Renjun was as clean as they came, he had also used that towel this morning. Still, it wasn’t like Mark had any other options, so Donghyuck kept his mouth shut.

“We should go to the bathrooms. Mark can dry his hair under the hand dryer and change into his dry clothes,” Donghyuck suggested, watching as Mark rummaged through his own duffel and pulled out a smaller, zippered bag. He was still shivering, but it wasn’t too bad, and his lips were back to normal after spending some time in the sun.

“Yeah, good idea. I’m gonna stay here because my shoes need to dry out, but you guys should definitely go,” Renjun said, handing Donghyuck the hoodie and track pants Mark had been wearing earlier. He stripped his wet socks off and picked up his shoes, and his and Mark’s bags. “I’m gonna lay these out on that big rock over there to dry. Don’t worry, I’ll watch our stuff.”

“Okay,” Donghyuck replied, inwardly cringing at the thought of spending time with Mark alone. But his guilt overrode his apprehensiveness, and he helped Mark to his feet once more, walking alongside him to the bathrooms.

Luckily, no one else was inside, so Mark immediately turned the hand dryer on blast and sat underneath it. Donghyuck stood next to him, pressing the button over and over so it wouldn’t turn off, watching as Mark scrubbed his hands through his hair, fluffing it with his fingers so the hot air would help it dry.

“Hey, this dryer is pretty good,” Mark said, his mouth forming an ‘O’ when he realized his hair had dried. It was sticking up all over the place, and looked soft like a bird’s down feathers. Donghyuck quickly glanced away, his cheeks heating up. “I wish I had a spare shirt, it’ll be weird to go shirtless underneath a hoodie.”

“Weirder to go commando,” Donghyuck pointed out, handing Mark his clothes.

Mark waved the bag he had brought with him. “My mom kinda trained me to always keep extra socks and underwear in my gym bag in case of an emergency. I don’t know if this is what she was thinking about, but damn, I’m grateful.”

Donghyuck tried not to think about how good the curse word sounded on Mark’s tongue as he stood up and slipped into one of the stalls to change. He also tried not to think about how Mark was getting naked barely two feet away from him. He definitely didn’t care about what Mark’s body might look like under those baggy clothes, his lithe body toned from athletics.

Fuck, Donghyuck thought, smacking his cheeks with his hands to clear his mind. Wait, I just remembered something! “Mark, I have my jersey in my bag if you want to wear it.”

“Really?” He didn’t know what to make of the delight in Mark’s voice. “Yeah, that’d be great, Hyuck!”

Hyuck. Where did he learn that nickname? Donghyuck contemplated the way it sounded in Mark’s voice, and decided he didn’t hate it. He dug his practice jersey out of his bag, happy that he had chosen not to wear it this morning, and threw it over the door of the stall.

He didn’t consider the repercussions of his act of kindness until the stall door swung open and Mark stepped out wearing his shirt, his hoodie draped over one arm. It was a black, white, and red long sleeve, and Donghyuck had picked a bigger size so it fit Mark’s broader shoulders. It had his name printed over the right breast and his number on the back, with ‘LEE’ written on the bottom. Mark looked good in his jersey. Really good.

Donghyuck swallowed, unable to take his eyes off of Mark, who finally shrugged on the hoodie and reached back behind the door for Renjun’s towel, which must have been hanging on the hook.

“Thanks again, Donghyuck. I’ll wash it and return it tomorrow morning, don’t worry.”

He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t worried. Now come on, let’s get back to Renjun. He’s probably bored without us.”

And without waiting for Mark’s reply, he picked up his bag and speed walked out of the bathroom, cheeks burning. He heard Mark’s footsteps behind him, but luckily he didn’t try to keep pace with Donghyuck, instead following at his heels.

Donghyuck headed over to where Renjun was laid flat on one of the giant rocks near the water, looking like a mermaid taking a nap, or maybe a cat basking in the sun. His shoes were beside him, and his and Mark’s bags were perched on another rock.

“Injunnie!” Donghyuck called as he got closer. “Take up modelling, you look good!”

Renjun cracked up, posing dramatically on the rock with one hand flung into the air. “I’m an influencer, get it right.”

“Oh god, please, no,” Donghyuck begged, sliding onto the rock as Renjun sat up to give him space. “Anything but an influencer.”

“What are influencers?” Mark asked, climbing on top of the bigger rock behind him.

“Are you a boomer?” Mark gave him a confused look. “Never mind. Influencers are like people on Instagram and stuff that promote certain lifestyles. Like fitness or travel or something. They usually just look pretty and post brand deals.”

“Oh cool. Then you could be one too, right?”

Is he calling me pretty? Donghyuck didn’t have time to dwell on it before Renjun snorted. “As if, he’d probably be a Twitch streamer before he becomes an influencer selling knock off Sugar Bear Hair products.”

“I’m not good enough to be a streamer,” Donghyuck muttered.

“Well, lots of people aren’t that good but they start a channel anyway. I think it doesn’t matter if you’re good or not, as long as you’re entertaining enough for people to watch, right? I mean, I watch Yukhei play games all the time, and he’s awful at them, but it’s so funny because he tries to find secret passages or something and he always ends up dying in the funniest ways,” Mark said, and Donghyuck couldn’t take his earnest expression. He looked like a puppy, and Donghyuck was finding it harder and harder to dislike him.

“That’s true, Hyuck,” Renjun mused. “Maybe you could sell your gamer girl bath water.”

“I’ll show you bath water,” Donghyuck growled playfully, lunging at Renjun and trying to push him off the rock. Renjun shrieked, scrambling to his feet and jumping onto Mark’s rock, hiding behind him.

“Don’t take me, take Mark instead! I’m cuter!”

“No way! I already went for one impromptu lake bath, I don’t need another!” Mark jumped to his feet too, holding his hands up in surrender. Renjun ducked behind him completely, somehow managing to hide his entire frame despite only being a couple inches shorter than Mark.

“Fine, you’re safe this time,” Donghyuck said, giving up in favour of jumping off the rocks into the sand. “Wanna walk along the shore before we head home? I think your shoes are dry, Renjun.”

“They’re not,” Renjun said with a sigh, poking at his shoes. “But it’s fine, I’ve had worse. A walk sounds really good, Hyuckie.”

“Let’s go then,” Donghyuck cheered, offering Renjun his hand once he had put his shoes on and grabbed his bag. Renjun took it, intertwining their fingers the way he always did. They didn’t hold hands often, but Donghyuck loved it when they did.

He didn’t expect Renjun to reach out and grab Mark’s hand, too, but he found he didn’t mind so much.