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“You should try and talk to him, Hyuck,” Renjun nudged him with his elbow.
Donghyuck looked back at him with a frown.
“Only to see that nothing changes?”
Renjun let out an exaggerated groan and rolled his eyes.
“You don’t know that. And you won’t until you say hello. Just a quick greeting and you’d know if he’s worth pining after.”
Donghyuck squinted at the other, sticking his tongue out at him. Renjun shook his head, closing his notebook, letting his hand lay flat on top of it.
Donghyuck’s gaze fell on the dark birthmark on the back of his hand.
Renjun had gotten it shortly after he had met Jeno in high school and it didn’t take long for the same one to appear on the back of Jeno’s hand.
Donghyuck still remembered the smile on his friend’s face after they all sat down at a table and realized the two love birds had identical birthmarks, tying them together as soulmates.
He was all too aware of how people were finding their significant others left and right and he was left still staring at the dark-haired boy from a distance as he walked towards the exit of the library, unaware of anyone’s eyes following him.
He tore his eyes away from the door the boy had left through moments before and turned back to his textbook, pretending to read the same paragraph for the nth time.
“He’s close with Jeno and he’s really nice. I’ll ask him to bring him along for you to meet next time,” Renjun offered, noticing the defeat in his friend’s eyes.
But Donghyuck brushed it off with a light chuckle.
“Hm, I’d rather not.”
-
If Donghyuck thought he was persuasive, he wouldn’t know how to describe his friends.
Not long after Renjun’s preach in the library, he was roped into a supposedly “casual” meeting with Jeno’s friend - one that had definitely been thoroughly engineered by both Renjun and Jeno.
Donghyuck had tried his best to make up any and every excuse under the sun, but to no avail; Renjun would “drag him into that café by the ear”.
“He said he’ll be here in a minute,” Jeno said after checking the text on his phone.
As great as a double date with his crush and his friends sounded, Jeno’s friend was neither his date nor did Donghyuck want to make a fool out of himself, not only in front of his crush, but also in front of his friends the first time they met.
He wasn’t much of a romantic either, but he still would’ve preferred a fated meeting rather than whatever his friends had gotten him into.
“Great, I’m so excited,” he replied dryly, earning a gentle smack to his arm from Renjun.
“You’re just meeting your friend’s friend, just be cool,” Jeno said, the mischievous smile apparent on his face.
With both his friends adamant about witnessing his downfall, he had no one but himself to back him up.
“I am cool, I’m always cool,” Donghyuck threw back at him.
He wasn’t left with much more time to complain when the door to the coffee shop opened and a dark-haired boy stepped in, scanning the tables for familiar faces.
The boy smiled when he recognized his friends, making his way towards them.
Donghyuck’s heart rate heightened with every step the boy took towards him and, as he extended his hand, he thought, maybe I’m not so cool after all.
Seemingly oblivious to the trembling of his hand, the boy kept smiling politely as he introduced himself.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Mark.”
-
Donghyuck couldn’t gather the courage to look at himself after getting introduced to Mark.
What made it worse was the way they kept spending more time together as the days passed. Soulmates or not, he enjoyed his company more than he would’ve liked to admit.
He told himself to keep his cool as Mark invited him to hang out or grab lunch; they grew closer and closer, but Donghyuck wasn’t sure what to think of it.
Too afraid of the disappointment, he refused to acknowledge his face in the mirror for days, his hands and arms when he looked down or his legs when he got dressed.
The uncertainty and fear continued to cloud his mind as he plopped down on Renjun’s bed, wondering why he was so scared of the truth.
His loop of thoughts was interrupted when Renjun entered the room loudly, quickly closing the door behind him.
“So, anything?” He immediately asked, pulling his chair up to sit in front of Donghyuck.
Renjun’s face was filled with curiosity and high expectations, Donghyuck could tell that much, and it made it harder for him to answer.
“Uh, right. It’s not him,” he replied in a voice that was smaller than his usual one.
He could barely bring himself to look up at his friend and when he did, he saw the instant drop of Renjun’s hopeful expression.
“Seriously?” Renjun muttered, “Jeno said he started talking about getting new moles like right after meeting you, though.”
There was a brief jump in his chest and Donghyuck brought his hand up to his left cheek, resting it against his palm.
He sighed and hoped his voice wouldn’t betray him in the middle of his sentence.
“Yeah, but I don’t have them. It’s not me,” he managed to get out through his trembling lips.
Renjun seemed to slump in his chair, chewing on his lower lip as he watched Donghyuck trace patterns on the sheets beneath him absentmindedly.
His voice was quiet and unsure as he tried to offer comfort.
“Maybe it’s just taking a bit longer for you,” Renjun said, hoping he sounded more confident than he was.
But he knew he wasn’t fooling his friend and it pained him to hear his defeated response.
“You know that’s not true.”
As the room fell into silence, there was nothing left for Renjun to do that would console Donghyuck, who kept his eyes trained on the bed.
“I’m sorry, you’ll find your soulmate soon,” he said in the end.
-
“I don’t know. Maybe they just appeared naturally, but..”
Donghyuck found himself tuning out the words of others more often than not in the past weeks, but as he listened to Mark going on about his new moles, he wished he could’ve been able to run away altogether.
He knew it was only a matter of time before it’d be brought up, but he couldn’t get himself to accept the truth and deal with it.
Mark had asked so casually, slipping it into their conversation as they played video games, like it was nothing.
“You didn’t notice any changes on your face lately, have you?”
And it was kind of funny. His face was right there; if Mark had wanted an honest answer, he could’ve looked straight at him to see for himself.
But he kept his eyes on the monitor, the clicking noises of his controller dominating the room again. And Donghyuck momentarily let himself be defeated in the game, hesitating to give an answer.
“No,” he said finally, his tone almost disinterested and distant as he continued to concentrate on the game.
He didn’t turn to watch Mark’s reaction and restarted the round instead.
Donghyuck thought about what he must’ve felt like, hearing his cold answer; he looked at Mark, who was seated right next to him as he uselessly tried to explain the moles on his face.
Watching his expression twist into a frown made Donghyuck want to reach out to touch the little dots on his face - the perfect dark spots that could make it all so much easier if they were shared.
Instead, Donghyuck kept his hands to himself and tried to offer a comforting smile.
“I don’t know either, I’m sorry. I’m sure you’ll.. meet them soon.”
If there was anything else Mark wanted to say, he didn’t let it on.
He returned the smile instead and ignored the cryptic look in Donghyuck’s doe eyes, as much as his mind screamed at him to question his every word.
“I sure hope so.”
-
Weeks, even months passed and Donghyuck found Mark becoming a more integral part of his life.
Renjun often complained about him having found another best friend, but he seemed pleased more than anything else. He never stopped the habit of teasing Donghyuck about Mark, all in a genuine effort to keep his spirits up.
He texted Renjun to reassure him that he’d always be his number one enemy before slipping his phone back into his pocket to continue provoking Mark about trivial topics as they ate their freshly ordered takeout.
“Accept defeat, baby, you can’t prove me wrong,” Donghyuck boasted as he munched loudly on his fries.
Mark dropped his burger and raised his hands up to his temples, taking a deep breath as he clenched his eyes shut.
“The earth isn’t and will never be an octahedron, Donghyuck.”
“Have you seen it? With your own two eyeballs? I doubt it, you’ve just been brainwashed,” he continued on his rant, everything but oblivious to Mark’s growing frustration.
Mark rolled his eyes and huffed out a laugh, looking at him in disbelief.
“You’re.. okay, no. Fine, just eat,” he said and picked his burger back up.
Donghyuck smiled smugly, wiping a napkin proudly across both cheeks before dropping it unceremoniously.
Feeling satisfied about his victory, he made sure to pretend to hog all the fries, putting out a hand to keep him away from the food, and just as he was about to tell Mark that ‘winner gets all’, he caught him staring at him.
Donghyuck pulled his hand back hesitantly, trying to decipher what it was that he was so intently looking at.
“What?” He asked, furrowing his brows.
“What’s that on your face?”
Mark vaguely pointed to his cheek, his voice taking on a more serious, almost suspicious tone.
“Nothing, why?” Donghyuck wiped a hand over his cheek before looking down at it.
But Mark didn’t seem convinced and continued to stare holes into him, making Donghyuck feel anxious under the intense gaze.
“It looks like..”
Mark trailed off, bringing his fingers up to trace the mole on his own cheek in the same spot as he eyed the dot on Donghyuck’s face closely.
When Donghyuck’s eyes landed on the spot Mark was grazing on his face, he froze.
The realization of what Mark had been about to say rendered him speechless, but in a matter of seconds, he went from the horrified expression to plastering a nervous smile onto his face.
“Oh, I accidentally put my pen up to my face earlier,” Donghyuck said, “I’ll go clean it off.”
He scrambled to leave the table as quickly as he could, a hand cupping his own cheek.
Mark sat in front of the unfinished food, completely dumbfounded.
And when Donghyuck came back, smiling and his face rid of any imperfections, he still couldn’t stop staring at that spot on his skin.
-
And that wasn’t the last of Mark’s suspicions.
Over the course of the next months, Mark began to take note of the sudden increase in Donghyuck’s already frequent trips to the bathroom or simply away from him.
Every time they met, Donghyuck would run off a couple of times, if only very briefly, and come back like nothing had happened.
And he’d always take whatever bag he carried that day with him.
Mark didn’t know how to ask him about it, so he kept bearing it with no explanation.
“Fuck, fuck, no,” Donghyuck mumbled and frantically tried to cover his face with one hand, like always.
“What’s wrong-” Mark had tried to ask, like always.
“I- I need to use the bathroom,” Donghyuck hurried to blurt out before he dashed away - like always.
Mark, as usual, stared after him, expressionless.
But this time, it almost made his blood boil. He wanted to chase after him, ask him what he was hiding and why he was hiding it.
Frustration was an understatement to describe what he felt, it was so much more, but he’d keep his patience.
He’d calm down and he’d wait, like always.
He just hoped he wouldn’t have to wait much longer.
-
“It’s him.”
“Huh?”
Renjun looked up from his phone briefly, continuing to type away as he waited for his friend to continue.
“Mark. It’s him, he’s my soulmate.”
Now, Renjun froze, his phone dropping to the bed.
“What?” He abruptly sat up, his eyes full of disbelief as he looked to his friend for an explanation.
When he realized he wasn’t getting one, he stood up, right in front of Donghyuck who was seated in his chair.
“Donghyuck, you’ve known him for over a year, you would’ve known immediately if it was him–”
“I did,” his friend replied, refusing to look him in the eye.
“And you kept it from everyone, from him?! Why would you do that?”
Donghyuck buried his face in his palms, slumping further in his seat.
“I.. don’t know,” he mumbled into his hands, “how am I gonna tell him I’ve been lying for so long?”
Renjun put his hands onto Donghyuck’s shoulders carefully, examining the small dots on his face for himself as the other looked up at him desperately.
“I just.. You need to tell him, alright?” Renjun began, “it’s not fair to either of you.”
Renjun had never seen them before either and he would’ve asked about it if there hadn’t been a certain someone who deserved an answer more than himself.
-
It wasn’t much longer before Donghyuck broke.
He knew he couldn’t look into Mark’s deep, genuine eyes, at his pale skin and the dark specks across it any longer without telling him the truth.
So, the next time Mark called to invite him over, he made up his mind.
“Can we talk?” Donghyuck asked, almost too quietly, but Mark had turned to face him.
“Sure, about what?” Mark already seemed thrown off by the seriousness in his tone.
Donghyuck inhaled sharply, worrying Mark even more, and grabbed a tissue out of his bag he had been keeping next to him.
He started vigorously rubbing at his left cheek, all the way down to his neck.
“What are you doing?” Mark wanted to reach out to stop him as he saw his eyes welling up with tears, but his hand wouldn’t move after noticing marks slowly appear on Donghyuck’s skin.
Before he could understand what they meant, Donghyuck’s sobs began echoing through the room.
“It was me. It’s always been me,” he cried, finally dropping the tissue stained with makeup.
“Donghyuck..”
“I was embarrassed because I liked you for so long before we ever talked,” he said, “and I just couldn’t tell you after we became friends.”
He tucked his chin towards his chest, trying his hardest to control the rush of emotions as he exposed himself, showing Mark his most vulnerable side.
“I didn’t want to keep lying for this long, but I had gone too far already.”
As Donghyuck finished, bracing himself for Mark’s reaction, the other stood completely silent.
This is it, he thought, my soulmate hates me.
The anxious wait made his stomach twist and head spin, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything else.
Finally, Mark made a move.
Donghyuck was still fighting tears, but the other gently brought one of his hands up to cup his cheek in his palm, almost making Donghyuck stumble back in surprise.
He stroked over the mole on his cheek before letting his hand travel down to touch the one on his neck. It almost seemed like he was checking if they were real - and they were.
Donghyuck hadn’t known what to expect, but what he saw certainly wasn’t it.
Mark sighed with a smile, while Donghyuck’s frown only deepened in confusion.
He narrowed his eyes through tears, helplessly watching Mark as he anticipated his reply.
“I always thought something was wrong,” Mark began, pressing his fingers against Donghyuck’s skin.
“I knew it had to be you. It couldn’t have been anyone else but you because I wanted it to be you.”
A few seconds passed before they turned into minutes, all while Donghyuck’s brain tried to comprehend what he was hearing.
And Mark didn’t seem fazed in the slightest; he remained as patient as ever, like Donghyuck hadn’t just exposed the biggest lie he’s ever told, the biggest secret he had ever kept.
He asked himself why he had done it in the first place, how he could’ve been so ignorant and selfish. He struggled to find the words to express how sorry he was, but as angry as he was at himself, Mark only continued to watch his face attentively, the soft smile still present as he stroked over his cheek.
“You’re not mad?” Donghyuck furrowed his brows, wiping his tears on his sleeve in an attempt to regain his composure.
“Of course I wish you’d have told me,” Mark answered gently, “but I’m just happy you are my soulmate after all.”
“I really am sorry, you should be mad,” Donghyuck insisted, weakly punching against the other’s chest.
All tension in his body finally released and Donghyuck felt like he could breathe freely for the first time in months when Mark accepted his apology.
“I didn’t give up hope for over a year, it feels good to know I was right,” Mark almost sang triumphantly, pinching Donghyuck’s cheek.
“Oh, you just needed to be right for once, is that it?” Donghyuck mumbled, averting his eyes and crossing his arms with an exaggerated pout.
Mark couldn’t help but laugh at the sudden change in Donghyuck’s demeanor.
“We were just having a moment, but I’ll let it slide this once.”
Donghyuck slumped against him with a light giggle, pressing his forehead against Mark’s shoulder as the other loosely wrapped his arms around him.
“You’re lucky you’re so cute," Mark whispered into his hair.
“I’m lucky you’re my soulmate.”