Chapter Text
~
With the strong smell of coffee lingering in the air, Mark woke up exhausted and sprawled over his desk. Slowly straightening up, he felt his neck crack as he stared aimlessly into the computer in front of him.
It wasn’t going to work; nothing was going to write down itself.
Sighing and still feeling drowsy, as if he hadn’t woken up at all, he stood up and opened his bedroom door, following that warm and cozy smell.
While he made his way towards the living room his muscles ached and he wondered why, since the only thing he had been doing for two weeks straight was sit down in front of his computer.
Well, scratch wonder . He might have not been taking care of himself.
Shuffling through the corridor, he bewared of at least showering that day. It wasn’t as if he was scruffy or anything, it was just easy to lose track of time when he was stressed.
“You have been there motionless for a while now, want some coffee?” Mark was startled back to reality by his roommate’s soft voice.
Looking up, he was greeted with quite a regular image: Johnny with his plain black mug of steaming coffee sitting on the dining table, still in his sleeping clothes and scrolling down his cell phone, probably on Twitter. He gasped dramatically, kept scrolling a little bit more to then blurt out “Earth to Mark” glancing at him.
Right, he had to answer with words.
“Yes I need coffee” Mark’s small and strained voice hurt even his own ears.
“Dude. You look dead” uttered his friend, looking at him with certain worry.
“Thanks” He voiced while resting his head on the doorway, closing his eyes and letting himself melt into a puddle on the hard surface.
“You know you can’t keep up with this, right? It’s not even funny anymore Mark. I’m genuinely concerned about your health”
And Mark knew it, he could pinpoint the moment his mental condition went from funny miserable to just miserable miserable.
There was an actual very threatening reason for him to be like that, and it was time. He had none and that crashed his will to live.
Call him dramatic, but he couldn’t afford to fail that final project nor be absent at his brother’s marriage ceremony. And he had to buy cereal, too.
“Mark, talk to me. I feel like when my dad found that joint on my wallet in freshman year and he imploded. Like literally had to go to the hospital because he was so in distress he couldn’t stand it”
He smiled. That actually didn’t happen.
Johnny’s father had fainted because of a sunstroke and was taken to the hospital, then he found the joint by chance and reprimanded his son on a hospital bed.
“Do you want me to get to that extreme point? Lying lifeless on a hospital bed because of your own incapacity of functioning like a proper human being?”
“Oh my god Johnny” he chuckled because it seemed to be the only logical thing to do. Also, it was so overdramatic it was relatable and funny.
“I’m alrig-“
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence young boy or I will be really pissed”
What the hell.
“What the hell? How long have you been there?” Mark couldn’t grasp anything at that point.
Taeyong was staring, bending over the kitchen counter, wearing a soft navy blue sweater and black skinny jeans. How could he look so utterly flawless that early on a Sunday was beyond Mark’s understanding of reality.
“Longer than you’d have liked. This is an intervention, brat. So sit down, we’re having a hopefully peaceful conversation” Taeyong motioned towards the chair.
And he just sat, knowing better than to run away again . Coffee was instantly handed to him and he eagerly took a sip, feeling his chest progressively warm up.
“We’re just really worried about you. You don’t even laugh at memes you know, jeez. That’s why we came up with an idea” This time it was Johnny’s soothing voice.
Mark had barely heard that tone since they met, only recalling the time he and Taeyong had a very silly and pointless argument two years ago.
“Yoga” his friend simply said after a brief pause while moving his hands in slow motion.
“What?”
“Yes, yoga” He just repeated the movement sluggishly as if that would clarify anything.
“You start tomorrow morning. 9 Am. We have already paid so no room to decline, Mark. I know the instructor… he’s extremely good at what he does. You’re going to chill and relax” Taeyong uttered, ironically sounding a little too firm for what he was trying to convey.
As if sensing that, his features softened and he extended a cookie towards him “Please say yes, we don’t want to see you like this anymore”
“Hyung” he paused, taking a bite of that chocolate heavenly cookie while trying to choose wisely his next few words “it’s no use because if I get to relax, then I’m gonna come back home to everything just how I left it. Then I might collapse emotionally and die, can you imagine that?”
“It’s only an hour” Johnny sounded exasperated “Do it for me Mark. I’m your roommate, your pal, your bro, never-ending companion”
And while he watched his friend deflate on the chair, he started to feel guilty...he knew he hadn’t been doing well lately and he acknowledged his friends worrying about him.
So that was why after some dubitation, he settled for “I will go, but just because you two have already paid”
In comeback, Taeyong and Johnny automatically high-fived in the air.
“Great. I bought some yoga clothes for you, go change wanna see if they fit you right” Taeyong sounded way more pleased with himself than ever. Also, very much like his mom. What was wrong with him.
“What? No!” he tried running but it was too late. Johnny was faster and smirking on the doorway behind him.
He wondered why that was happening to him and why his friends cared so much.
~
The evening had been uneventful aside from his friend’s intervention, which by the way had ended up bizarre enough to potentially become one interesting story to remember in the future. Hell, he sure hoped that something to laugh about would come out of those weeks of pure struggle.
Mark sighed while letting his head fall again on his desk. After some of his regular hours of staring at his blank draft, his eyes were sore and burning already.
He was a college student majoring in music. While he was following his dreams of cultural enrichment and skill improvement with intense studying since day one, he was also stressing pretty much if you asked him, or really, just took a brief look at him.
Big black circles under his eyes, pale face, rigid posture...his reflection in the mirror reminded him how fucked up he was every day. However, it was not only college bothering his mind, no. His brother was getting married in little less than two months in Canada, the same week he had a big project for ‘Composing for musical theatre’.
He had been avoiding studying that precise subject for so many years that it was kinda absurd now. So absurd he was about to graduate with that project, since it was his only subject left.
It was not as if he didn’t like theatre or something, he just knew very little about it and he simply let it pass with time. Nothing more, nothing less than that.
And what was more, he really needed to book the airplane tickets to fly to the other end of the world for a few days and come back to prepare an exhibition. Because of course his professor asked him to show a bunch of strangers the last project of his studies in a fancy serious place.
No big deal, except he had nothing for the theater music and no time or money to plan everything out for such a journey to his hometown.
Sighing and with the grace of someone who wants to stop existing for exactly a month and a half, he threw himself in the bed with nothing but the image of his blank sheet inside his head.
~
When little morning rays of sun streamed through Renjun’s open window and collided violently with his eyes, he knew something was wrong. He was covered in sweat and a fierce headache threatened to mercilessly end his life. Fuck.
With a whine, he sat higher up on the bed with difficulty and turned on his little desk lamp. It was goddamn six thirty on a freezing autumn Monday morning, and he felt awful.
Renjun whined aloud again.
Success shouldn’t be this hard.
See, he liked his life put together. He liked being organised, even though most of the time organization did nothing for him. At least he tried, you know. And he wasn’t asking for much actually, he just wanted to not fail his least favourite class and go to work.
Life should have been simple.
But no, he had to fall ill when he couldn’t afford one missing class of “history of art lll”. As already mentioned before, he didn’t like it and honestly wasn’t aiming to go through those eternal hours of boredom again.
(In Renjun's humble opinion, the actual subject could have been pretty interesting if only the professor would be slightly engrossed with his own lecture. It was a pain in the ass to waste hours of his precious day with someone whose job was only important because of the payment and not because of educational purposes).
Aside from that, even though there wasn’t a problem with him being absent at work because he was actually his own boss, there, in the middle of his drowsiness he could recall that Taeyong’s friend would be joining his yoga crew for the first time that day.
Would it be professional of him to be absent in the guy’s first class? Of course not, and he hated being unprofessional.
The only sounds in the room were the monotone buzz of the fish tank and Renjun’s body sliding down his blankets.
He opted by asking for help, just that once, because dizziness was taking over his body and really...he just wanted to be held for a little bit (he wasn’t saying it aloud though. It was clearly the disease’s blame).
That was how he got up and went to the only place he knew he was going to find some comfort and a possible solution for his problems: his roommate’s bedroom.
~
Mark was staring at the building, as the morning sun wrapped warmly around his back. It had only taken ten minutes and eight blocks for him to find a place called ‘Neozone’.
He was still gaping, sinking the image before him as a light cold breeze danced along his hair.
A dark blue big old house on the corner of a street looked back at him, gigantic and lively with a wide variety of pretty plants hanging loosely from its windows. He recognized a red bearberry beside a green bindweed covering one side of the wall and he could only ponder about how beautiful it all looked. It looked like a yard, a really well taken care of one, surrounded by cacti and bushes.
After some minutes, acknowledging he had stared at the place for so much time that probably delayed his perfectly-on-time arrival, he opened the door to make his way into the coziness inside.
The first thing he saw was a pastel pink hallway with at least four doors, two on each side of the walls. At the end he could discern a wooden staircase with a sign in the wall addressing ‘reception’ with an arrow pointing up.
As he got closer and closer to the stairs he caught a better sight of it, it was cutely hand-made, a tiny detail that suddenly made him feel comfortable, as in home somehow.
When he reached the reception, well, that was a whole other thing. The room was showered in natural light, there were almost no walls as the gigantic glass windows covered at least eighty percent of the room.
Beside the window there were a few well organized pots where the beginning of the bindweed roots could be seen. It looked like a bright waterfall of plants and Mark was enamoured by it.
As he kept scanning the room, he observed some pieces of art hanging from the only wall visible and a small ceramic sculpture on a wooden table. The place screamed exquisite and he was concentrated while admiring it, gaping at the architecture, the decoration, the beautiful lighting, everything, really, until his eyes landed directly on a sleeping man (or dead for all he knew) bent over his desk.
“Uhm...” Mark could only mumble because what do you say when a possible receptionist lies dead on his desk? Do you just wake him and tell him ‘hey I wanna go yoga’?
Yet, he didn’t have the chance to do anything because suddenly someone barged in the room running, slightly disheveled and clearly out of breath.
“NA JAEMIN”
The man jumped as a literal threat was directed at him, his eyes wide and unfocused.
With a better view of him, Mark noticed his light blue hair, graceful features and innocent expression.
When he saw the person addressing him though, he just smirked, slowly stretching his arms in the air and smugly replying “You’re late Lee Donghyuck”
“Why are you even here? Isn’t Lele’s shift right now?” The Donghyuck guy asked curiously, as if he hadn’t been ready to strangle the receptionist ten seconds ago. Mark decided they were weird.
“He has that piano thing workshop. It’s literally the only thing he talked about for a week. That, and his lame relationship with Jisung are his only two real interests, remember?” the man casually said while Mark started to feel a little out of place.
“Uh, yeah. Anyway, as you know I’m covering Renjun today. Anything I need to know before I go in there?” The guy spoke with so much energy for being almost 9 in the morning, he was taken aback.
“Not much” the receptionist replied while rummaging through some papers “There are ten regulars that have already started some breathing exercises in their room. Oh! And according to Chenle’s messy handwriting” he uttered while squinting at the paper “there is also one new guy called Mark Lee that hasn’t arrived yet”
“That’s me” shyly, oh so shyly, Mark addressed himself as the men beside him turned their heads as fast as lightning in a storm, staring right into his soul.
“Oh, gOd. How long have you been there? “Jaemin sounded surprised. “Sorry! Let me check you in” he apologized while writing down something on his computer.
Meanwhile, his apparent substitute instructor very openly scrutinized him so he just settled for doing the same.
He had the ends of his caramel brown hair dyed a vivid violet, the softest features Mark had ever seen and tanned skin. Yes, beautiful, glowing, striking tanned skin.
Said man was wearing a loose light pink crop top that showed a little bit of his tummy and some dark pink jogging. The guy wouldn’t go unnoticed, that was for sure.
As Mark's eyes landed by mistake across the smooth curvature of the other’s waist, well, he automatically dropped his gaze to the floor with alarm, because his instructor was hot.
Feeling slightly on edge, he ended up staring lamely at the bright yellow sneakers hugging his instructor’s feet until he saw them move.
“Honey, are you done admiring me? Because we really need to go” Although his words were confident, he sounded a little nervous, his ears slightly red. His instructor covered it up with a giggle, as the receptionist Jaemin gasped out loud.
“Donghuyck! Don’t make him uncomfortable, he is new here. And Renjun will end you”
“Oh, but I guess Injunnie Isn't here. He’s coughing in bed” he retorted with a devilish grin “let’s go Mark Lee, follow me” He continued while motioning with his hand to go along.
Mark could only stare between Jaemin, who was grinning while shaking his head, and Donghuyck’s silhouette darting through the hallway beside the reception.
There was something striking about this guy Donghyuck, Mark observed as he walked behind him. Something about the noticeable fluidity and elegance of his movements even though he was clearly in a rush.
The walk was silent in the other pink hallway they had entered, until Donghyuck abruptly stopped in front of a door. It was so sudden, Mark had to steady himself from almost crashing against the other, who was just breathing deeply in and out.
After some seconds and with a fluid motion, he opened the door looking expectantly at him.
“Please, come in” the guy said, as delicate as an autumn leaf. How the guy suddenly went from plain energetic to yoga-monk in a second striked Mark so much, he entered the room without saying a word.
As soon as he set foot inside, he found his own self staring in a mirror. It was a regular dance studio with two mirror walls and one gigantic window that provided a view of the backyard.
To his surprise, he spotted a slim man out there in the freezing weather, watering the plants with a red sprinkling can.
Looking back inside, he kept scanning the room and saw a few people laying in purple yoga mats.
“Alright people, good morning” Mark’s inspection was interrupted by Donghyuck, who had made his way to the center of the room to speak out loud “My name is Lee Donghyuck, I’ll be lecturing today’s class. Renjun had a last minute emergency and couldn’t make it” he said calmly as someone in the room asked if the missing man was okay “Yes he is just sick, next week I’m sure he will be here again, don’t worry!!” Donghyuck finished reassuringly “Shall we start?”
And as a general affirmative hum could be heard, everyone positioned themselves on a mat.
“Hey Mark Lee? You can leave your backpack over there, make yourself comfortable” His instructor pointed to the corner of the room where a lot of coats and backpacks were thrown messily. “You are gonna be by my side today, since it’s your first day” He said while grinning and sounding genuinely welcoming.
While nodding and letting his backpack aside, he kinda felt his insides twist...over that smile. Sitting down next to his instructor, he wondered how much more illogical his feelings could get that day.
~
Mark, with his eyes closed, could hear everyone thanking Donghyuck for the class while picking their things up.
His disarmed body laid still on his mat, his breathing cool and muscles relaxed.
He had ascended and nothing was going to bring him back to reality, no sir.
“You go Karen! Relax! Enjoy! Have an outstanding week!” It was Donghyuck, cheering on every student walking by him.
He had proved to be an outstanding instructor, judging by Mark’s entire body melted into a puddle of joy on the floor.
However, as soon as he had announced the class was coming to an end, he switched from pacific yoga master to a bouncy, noisy electric kid that, honestly, confused him a lot.
“Mister Lee, I know my class was incredible, but it’s over and I gotta go home” As he opened his eyes he took notice of Donghyuck standing up beside him, smirking. He extended a hand for Mark to take, to help him up “You know, for someone your age, you were extremely rigid and contractured. Can I ask why?”
“Uh” Mark’s mind was far away from there, as if his brain was placed into a box and that box into a plane that crashed and ended up in the middle of the ocean. Yes, like that. He felt like dozing, barely registering his instructor’s voice “what?”
“God you’re destroyed” the other cackled. “I asked why are you so wrecked dude”
And oh boy, it was like music to his ears. If he had felt light-headed before, he was definitely about to die now. It was such an alluring image and the guy was so bright.
“Stop laughing at my evident torment” He answered playfully “I’m just a very stressed man, with a lot to do” he finished with a dramatic sigh.
“That’s just so ambiguous I can’t really say anything reassuring” the other remarked, a bit sarcastic “So I’ll totally stop trying to do that, since I must leave but-” getting closer to his training bag, he got out a yellow coupon “I’m actually a zumba instructor here, and while I believe in chakras and deep tranquility and conexion within yourself, sometimes the only thing that helps me feel better is hectic dance and training” he smiled like the literal sun “So, yeah, you might like to come. Tomorrow at six in the afternoon, It’s free!!” He offered a shy smile and the cupon at Mark “I really need to go now, if you happen to want to come and have any questions, just ask the lazy unbothered worm sitting in the reception, he will help you. See you!!”
And with that, he rushed out of the room and probably the building in like, seconds, leaving Mark standing there staring at the window while the gardener moved cacti from the shadows towards the sun.
~
As he opened the door, he saw the image of his roommate covered with a handful of bedspreads, eating soup on the dining table and looking weak and as fragile as glass.
Usually Donghyuck would make fun of his bittersweet friend, but at that moment the only thing he felt was worry.
“Oh sweetheart” He strode right next to him and extended a hand towards Renjun’s forehead to feel his temperature “you’re too hot!”
“Yes, Donghyuck. That happens when you have a fever” he retorted sarcastically, but slightly softer than usual. Donghyuck could tell, that was just how much he knew his friend.
“Stop bitching around. Want me to take you to the hospital? I can skip class today for you” he uttered while taking a seat next to the other.
Being genuinely concerned about the other and showing it was something they certainly didn’t use to do. Nonetheless, with time bonds change and so did their friendship. While at first, during teenage days they wouldn’t share much of their most sincere feelings, luckily it was just a common thing now.
Consequences of living together for almost four years. They’ve learnt a lot during that time.
With a big pout, Renjun whined “I don’t know. I feel like shit” and Donghyuck thought he looked like it too “But I can’t miss class today. I really shouldn’t” his friend paused and took half a spoonful of soup. He looked lost in thought “how did the class go?”
“It went as smooth as usual, my dearest. Who do you think I am?” he said while caressing his own violet strands of hair “Do you remember today you were supposed to have a new student?” Renjun nodded while gently blowing at his hot spoon “Well, he was kinda amusing. And hot, not gonna lie” the sick man dropped the spoon to give his full attention to his friend's next few words. He smelt trouble approaching “and I might have invited him to my classes” He snickered as Renjun threw a hysterical look at him.
“First you get late to the class -and don’t try to deny it Jaemin called me- and then you steal my student because he is hot?” Renjun dramatically asked with a groan, pointing closely at him with the metal spoon “You’ve never invited someone to your classes”
In answer to that, Donghyuck could only snicker because if Renjun was able to get mad and overdramatic, he wasn’t feeling that bad after all.
“Yep. I haven't. Come on, let’s go to the hospital, Injunnie”
~
“So I send you to a regular yoga class and you come back with a date ? Not bad, Marky” Johnny uttered that last part while doing finger guns with the yellow coupon in hand. It had only one word imprinted on it: ‘~Haechan~’.
“How many times do I need to say it’s not a date?” he whined back. At least he had a nice steaming latte on his hands that comforted his body and soul from his friends “It’s a free class which by the way I’m clearly taking because, you know. Free stuff” he said mildly annoyed.
“He’s just teasing, stop pouting like a child” Jaehyun uttered with a snort. Damn Jaehyun and his dumb, senseless devotion for Johnny. Why can’t he be on his side from time to time? “At least were you able to relax?”
“Yes Mark. Tell us, were you able to relax?” Mark could only jump out of surprise on his chair as a pair of hands found their way on his shoulders and Taeyong’s voice appeared right behind him.
“Jeez! You need to stop your sneaky spy motions or I might have a heart attack” he breathed deeply, rather disturbed “And yes, I had a very calming and great class”
When he turned around, he saw not only Taeyong but another guy beside him, which was inexplicably familiar. Very familiar. Wait.
“YOU’RE THE GARDENER” Mark screamed out loud as realization hit him. The coffee shop momentarily quieted down for a bit, but resumed activity in a second. “Sorry” ended up mumbling as his friends glared at him.
“Mark” Taeyong had his hands on his temples now “This is Doyoung.” He sighed when he acknowledged Mark’s confused expression “You know him. I literally talk about him every day. You met him on my birthday?”
Oh.
Yes, The Doyoung guy. The singer and the gardener. Taeyong’s best friend. Also the guy who might have shown Taeyong the dance studio.
“Right, right, sorry!” he apologized again, but this time looking at the man in question.
“Oh, don’t be. But you know, I saw you staring at me from the studio this morning. That was indeed creepy”
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to- I was just-”
“It’s alright, I was joking” Doyoung interrupted with a smirk while his so-called friends laughed.
He wondered why that was happening and why, yet again, his friends were laughing at him.
Maybe he was just secretly hilarious.