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Mark has decided that today is the day. This is the day he will be asking his long time friend and crush Donghyuck to go to prom with him this weekend. Yes, he should have asked way ahead of literal days before the actual prom, but he kept chickening out.
Also, he was so sure that someone better would’ve asked Donghyuck to go. He is the Donghyuck after all. But Mark hasn’t heard about him having any dates so far, so there’s a little bit of hope.
Really, if not now, then when? Tomorrow? The day before prom? No. Two days before prom is better than never.
Mark checks his clothes for the last time in the mirror conveniently placed close to their door. He shoves his hair to the right, shoves it back to the left, and finally shoves it back to the way it looked before he messed with it in the first place.
Mark shuts his front door, making sure it's locked before turning around and going down the steps. However, he stops in his tracks when he's met with a dog standing on the path to his front door, staring at him.
"Uh, hi?" Mark waves awkwardly, not sure where the dog came from.
"Mark! You ready to go?" Donghyuck yells with a smile on his face as he shuts his door and makes his way to the sidewalk.
Mark smiles back, giving the dog one more strange look before walking around it and falling into step with Donghyuck.
"Hi," Donghyuck says, giving him another smile.
Mark feels his cheeks flush as he stares at the beautiful boy in front of him. He must have been staring for too long because Donghyuck tilts his head and says, "Mark, you there?"
Mark blinks, realizing he never said hi back. "Oh, right, h-hey," Mark stumbles out, nearly tripping over his own feet.
Donghyuck laughs as he steadies Mark with a hand wrapped around his arm. Mark blushes at the contact.
"Careful there," Donghyuck teases. Mark gives him a sheepish smile in return.
They continue their walk in comfortable banter, until Mark feels the hairs stand on the back of his neck. Looking behind him, he sees the same dog from earlier following them. Not only that, but there appears to be two more dogs with it. He tries to shoo the dogs away with his hand, but they ignore him and keep following them.
"Right Mark?"
Mark quickly turns back to Donghyuck, nodding his head to show he's paying attention.
“Do you even know what I just said?” Donghyuck teases.
“Um- yeah something about…” Mark’s mind is blank and Donghyuck can tell.
“I was talking about prom silly!” Donghyuck laughs. “It’s almost here!”
Mark’s eyes widened. Right, prom, how could he forget? He glances at Donghyuck, sees how the sun lights up his beautiful skin, the way his whole face brightens when he laughs.
He needs to ask him to prom.
“What are your plans?” Mark asks, voice cracking slightly.
“Hm, for what? Prom?” Donghyuck has a tiny smile on his face as he looks at Mark.”Well, I want to go, but-”
“But?” Mark asks.
“I don’t have a date yet.”
Mark's face breaks into a smile when he hears this. He doesn’t have a date, which means Mark has a chance of asking him out and him actually saying yes.
“Ya, what are you smiling at!” Donghyuck says as he gives Mark a little shove.
“Nothing!” Mark squeaks out. “It’s just anyone would be lucky to have you as their prom date,” Mark smiles.
“Yeah?” Donghyuck smiles back. “I hope so.”
Mark can’t help but stare at his smile, completely mesmerized. He can already hear his friends’ voices in his head ‘you're whipped and it shows.’ In times like these, he knows that there’s no arguing that claim. And in this particular moment, under the light of the morning sun, surrounded by familiar sounds of leaves rustling through the spring breeze, he feels it. Now’s his chance.
Just as Mark’s about to open his mouth to finally ask Donghyuck the question he’s been dying to ask since he laid eyes on the beautiful boy, he hears a tiny bark. He turns around and sees even more dogs behind them, following the two as they walk to school.
What the hell is going on?
"What are you looking at," Donghyuck goes to turn around, but Mark quickly stops him.
"Nothing!"
They continue walking for a few more moments, the dogs behind them still continuing to follow despite Mark's efforts to shoo them away. Mark tries to ignore them, he has a goal and he’s not going to let some stray dogs stop him.
“So, um, do you wanna go to pr-”
"Awww, Mark, look, it's a dog!" Donghyuck interrupts Mark as he coos at the stray dog laying in the path ahead of them. He walks up to it and begins scratching its head. "Mark, do you see this?" Donghyuck says, turning to look at Mark. Donghyuck’s eyes widen when he finally sees the army of dogs that were following them.
"M-Mark? What's going on?"
Something seems to happen, because the dogs, who were originally just following them, all rush to Mark, excitedly running and jumping on him.
"I don't know?!" Mark says as he tries to calm the dogs, but nothing seems to work and Mark is forced to start running away.
"Mark?!" Donghyuck shouts as he watches all the dogs chase after Mark in shock.
"Um, I'll see you at school?" Mark shouts behind him as he runs away.
He gets to school late and out of breath, because he had to run around the block a few times to lose all the dogs. His friend’s all give him odd looks when he finally walks into class. What the hell was that all about? He locks onto Donghyuck and the boy gives him a small wave. Mark returns it as he goes to his seat. He buries his head in his hands as his mind goes back to the failed attempt at asking Donghyuck to prom. He’s determined to ask him out before the end of the day, and he’s not going to let whatever that was discourage him.
˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖
Mark can hear his stomach growling as he walks down the crowded halls to lunch. He's starving and he's not sure why. His dad made him a big breakfast this morning, (eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, sausage, the works and Mark ate all of it) yet he feels like he hasn't eaten in like a year.
His stomach continues to growl as he gets in line and starts stacking food on his plate. Burgers, hot dogs, fries, basically anything his hand can reach. When he gets to the register, the cafeteria worker's eyes go wide when they see the amount of food Mark has on his plate. Mark gives them an awkward smile as he hands them his card to pay. He clumsily tries to balance all the food stacked on his plate as he makes his way to their usual table.
"Renjun, can I have some of your fries," Jaemin pouts, reaching over to snatch some from his plate. Renjun glares and slaps his hand away.
"No, I'm still eating."
"You never finish your food anyways, just give me one," Jaemin whines.
Renjun rolls his eyes. "If you want more fries, go buy yourself some more."
"It's too far away."
Renjun opens his mouth, probably to tell Jaemin to get his lazy butt up, but their attention quickly turn to Mark when he slams his food down on the table and starts scarfing everything down.
They stare in amazement at the amount of food now scattered on the table, watching the way Mark shovels everything into his mouth.
"Uh, hey Mark," Renjun's face scrunches up when some ketchup flies from Mark's burger and onto Renjun's shirt. He dabs a napkin on it. "Someone has an appetite."
Mark nods his head, but that's all the acknowledgement he gives the other two, too preoccupied with stuffing his face with food.
Jaemin eyes the plate of fries Mark has in front of him. "Mark, friend, buddy, you wouldn't mind if I had some of your fries right?" Jaemin says, leaning over the table to grab some.
Mark looks up with a hard glare, making Jaemin hesitate. When Jaemin tries to make any moves to get some fries, Mark seems to… growl?
"Uh, I guess you do mind," Jaemin says, confused at the way their friend is acting.
"You ok Mark?" Renjun asks, just as confused as Jaemin.
Mark blinks, anger calming down. He smiles, "Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?"
"Hey, what's up-" Donghyuck says with a smile, taking a seat across from Mark, hesitating when he sees the mess Mark made. "Whoa, did I miss a food fight?"
Mark blushes as he looks down and sees the mess he made on the table and his clothes. He doesn't meet Donghyuck’s stare, afraid of the judgment he might find in them.
"Do you want some napkins," Donghyuck starts to say, but Mark quickly shakes his head as he gathers up his leftovers, standing up and dumping them into the bin.
"I'm gonna go, I'll see you guys later," Mark laughs nervously, still avoiding Donghyuck’s intense gaze, and walks out of the cafeteria.
They all stare at his retreating form in silence.
"Well that was weird," Jaemin says, reaching over and grabbing the remainder of Mark's fries. Renjun rolls his eyes.
Mark keeps walking, unsure of where he’s actually going. He really only left the table to avoid embarrassing himself further in front of Donghyuck. He notices people staring at him, and realizes too late that he has food bits all over himself. He beelines for the bathroom to clean himself off.
Mark goes to the nearest sink and turns the faucet on. He places his hands under the water and brings it up to wipe the leftover food grimes off his face. He feels scruffy. Did he not shave this morning? No, he clearly remembers that he did. Has his stubble already grown back? Mark looks up at the mirror to find that not only did his stubble grow back, he is now sporting very noticeable patches of mustache and beard.
Mark retraces steps of his morning in his head to make sure that he wasn’t misremembering shaving, a part of his routine he doesn’t usually forget. The boy rubs his jaw, outlining the newly grown hair, hoping that somehow they’ll disappear as he brushes them through with his hands. A hope that obviously would not come true.
He ruminates hard on what to do with this unexpected problem. The mustachioed boy knows full well that his friends are still struggling with growing their facial hair, so he doesn’t expect any of them to have brought an emergency razor to school. He is, however, hoping that they can help him figure out a solution, because his brain can’t think past his fast growing hair and still grumbling stomach. Mark regrets not finishing his food, or at least bringing them on the run with him. He takes out his phone.
Hey can you guys help me with something?
haechan: are you okay? you need anything? you left the table in a real hurry earlier 😕
Yeah!
No! Yeah i’m fine
All good
Just need advice on something totally not serious 😀
rj: What’s wrong?
What would you guys do if there’s like a sudden… growth on your face?
jm: how big is it?
what?
jm: how big’s the pimple?
ITS NOT A PIMPLE
jm: sounds like a massive mountain of a pimple to me 🤷♂️
ITS NOT
NOT A PIMPLE AT ALL
JUST HAIR ITS JUST HAIR 😭
rj: hair?
Yeah I think I might’ve forgotten to shave or something this morning?
But the hair on my face grew a lot and it’s kinda embarrassing 😞
hc: we all have facial hair mark it’s not embarrassing
You’re right! It’s not usually
It’s just that it’s kinda patchy and it’s a lot more than I’m used to so..
jm: my brother usually has an extra mask so i can ask him to bring you one
Yes! Thank you! That’d be perfect!
jm: yeah it’ll cover that ginormous volcano right up
ITS NOT A PIMPLE 😭
A couple of minutes later, a student Mark recognizes to be Jaemin’s brother slowly opens the bathroom door. “Mark, right?” He asks hesitantly.
“Yeah,” Mark timidly confirms, “And you’re Jisung?”
Before the boy could answer, another student barges in, loudly gasping in awe. “Is that your real hair?” He asks, quickly inching closer.
Mark backs into the sink as the other approaches, “Uh… yeah.. I guess.”
“Can I touch it?” The boy asks, baffling Mark.
“Chenle!” Jisung runs after his friend and grabs his backpack to keep him from getting closer to Mark.
“What?” Chenle groans.
“You’re making him uncomfortable.”
“I’m just admiring his magnificent facial hair,” Chenle protests, pointing at Mark’s face, “This, Jisung, is the sign of true manhood. A real man’s man.” He lets Jisung take his backpack and moves even closer to Mark. “Sir, you have to teach me your ways. I’ve been trying to grow my mustache, and the only thing I’m getting is weird stubbles and patches. It could never come close to being as outstanding and glorious as yours.”
“Glorious…?” Mark turns to the mirror to find that his earlier patches had turned to fully grown out mustache and beard. He whips his head back towards Jisung. “Did you bring the.. Uhm.. the mask?” He stutters in panic.
“Yeah, here,” Jisung takes the mask out of his bag.
Chenle gasps, “You’re not going to hide that beauty are you?”
“I… Uhm…” The bell rings, interrupting Mark’s train of thought. He quickly grabs the mask from Jisung’s hand, thanking the boy as he exits.
He can hear Chenle declaring that Mark doesn’t need to hide his beautiful facial hair from the world, which he chooses to ignore as he scurries to his next class.
˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖
“That’s not normal,” Renjun states matter-of-factly as he studies Mark’s face, ignoring the half opened frog they should actually be studying on the table, “We literally saw you earlier at lunch and you definitely didn’t have all this hair on your face.” The lower half of Mark’s face is now covered by a mask, but bits of his beard are still sticking out the bottom. Renjun pokes at them.
“People’s hair grows differently, bro,” Jeno argues, “Just because it takes you a whole month to grow a full mustache, doesn’t mean this isn’t normal.”
Renjun shoots a warning glare at Jeno, then goes back to focusing on Mark’s face. “No, something’s off about it,” Renjun insists, “It could be a hormonal imbalance or something. Does it run in your family maybe?”
“Ooh, does your hot dad grow hair really fast, too?” Jaemin chimes.
Mark grimaces, “Please, don’t call my dad hot.”
“What? It’s the truth,” Jaemin shrugs, “Oh, to see the incomparable Johnny Suh with a well-groomed beard… I bet he pulls it off really well.”
“To answer Renjun’s question,” Mark interrupts, not wanting his gremlin of a friend to continue, “I don’t think it runs in my family? To be honest, I’ve never seen my dad with anything more than some morning stubble on his face.”
“Bummer,” Jaemin manages to comment before Renjun smacks him on the back of his head.
“Anyway,” Renjun turns back to Mark, “You should ask him if any of your other relatives have crazy fast hair growth like you. If not, you might wanna get that checked.”
Mark nods and pokes their dead frog, pretending to be interested in its froggy biology to try and hide his actual worry. He’s already stressed out enough about promposing to Donghyuck. Now he has to stress about some mystery hair growth whatever, too? The day just keeps getting worse for him.
˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖
"Sooo," Donghyuck starts to say as they walk side by side. School just ended so they're walking home together like they always do. "Was there something you wanted to ask me?"
"Huh?" Mark says as he turns to Donghyuck. Mark's been a little preoccupied thinking about all the weird stuff that has been happening today. First the dogs, then the weird appetite at lunch, and now all this facial hair that just won't stop growing. What's happening to him?
Donghyuck rolls his eyes as he gently knocks his shoulder into Mark. "You know, something prom related," Donghyuck gives him a pointed look until it finally clicks in Mark's head.
"O-Oh, right," Mark chuckles nervously as he scratches his head, a small blush dusting his cheeks. "So like," Mark clears his throat and glances at Donghyuck who's looking at him expectantly. Now's the perfect time to ask, Hyuck even brought up prom himself.
Do it Mark.
"Are you excited for prom?"
He's a wimp.
Donghyuck rolls his eyes and tugs on Mark's arm so he stops moving. "Mark, I've been waiting all day, no, all month for you to ask me to prom, but you haven't so I guess I'll do it! Will you go to prom with me?"
Mark blinks. Did he just? Immediately Mark's face goes bright red and he hides away from Donghyuck with his hands.
"I was supposed to ask you that!" Mark whines.
Donghyuck chuckles and unconvers Mark's face. "Well you were taking too long! Now answer the question, will you go to prom with me?" Donghyuck asks with a bright smile on his face.
Mark's answer is obvious, he doesn't need any time to think about it.
"Of course, there's nobody else I would rather go to prom with," Mark says shyly and it was worth Mark's embarrassment since he got to see the way Donghyuck's face lit up at his words.
"Yes!" Donghyuck giggles as he hugs Mark.
"Whoa," he chuckles as Donghyuck squeezes him tight.
"I already have my outfit picked out and everything! Oh my gosh, I have to message Renjun so he can help with my make up," Donghyuck says as he pulls away, but he stops for a moment and sniffs the air.
"Did you guys get a new dog or something?"
"What?" Mark asks in surprise.
"Your clothes, they kind of have that dog smell," Donghyuck says curiously.
"I smell like a dog?!" Mark squeaks out and then sniffs his jacket.
Donghyuck laughs and swats his hand, "You don't smell bad silly, I have two dogs so I just recognized the smell on you. Ok, enough about that, let's get home so we can plan everything," Donghyuck says as he grabs Mark's hand and rushes home.
˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖
“Dad!” Mark calls out as he enters the house, excited to share his great news.
“In the kitchen!” His father answers back. Mark can hear the water running. He must be doing the dishes.
“You won’t believe what happened to me today!” Mark starts as he drops his backpack on the couch and hurries over.
“Does it have something to do with your little crush on the neighbor boy?” Johnny teases.
“What? He’s not… That’s not…” Mark stutters, pausing his steps.
“Okay, does it have something to do with your big crush on the neighbor boy?” He teases some more.
Mark groans, “Yeah… It does.”
Johnny laughs, “So,” he turns around to find that his son’s face is chock full of hair, “What happened?!” He asks, wide-eyed.
“He asked me to be his date for prom!” Mark happily answers.
Johnny halts, “What?”
Mark giggles, “Yeah, I was supposed to ask him, but I took too long, so he ended up asking me, so we’re going together, and yeah… uhm.. So I actually have a question to ask.”
“Ask away, ” Johnny replies, bracing himself for whatever his son is about to inquire.
Mark takes a deep breath, “May I have some money, please?”
Johnny quirks his eyebrows, confused, “Money?”
“I need some money to buy a corsage and a really nice suit,” Mark explains.
“What’s wrong with the clothes you already have?” Johnny asks, unsure of what to focus on.
“I mean, if we weren’t gonna go together, I would’ve just picked out one of the blazers I already own, but… You know…”
Johnny looks at the worried expression on Mark’s face and decides to focus on what matters to his son in that moment. “You really wanna go all out, huh? I think that’s sweet.”
Mark beams, “So, I can?”
“Sure, Kiddo!” Johnny assures him. “You want me to come shopping with you to help pick out your suit? I promise I’ll pick a really good one! You know I’m very fashionable, even for an old timer. Everyone says so.”
Mark was ready to reject his dad’s offer, but he suddenly remembers the many times his friends, especially Jaemin, complimented his dad’s fashion sense. “I mean, if you don’t mind, that’d be great actually.”
“Cool!” Johnny tousles Mark’s hair as he passes by, earning another groan from his son, “Just let me grab my wallet.”
˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖
Jaemin whistles as soon as he sees Mark walk out of his house.
"Looking nice, Markie. Also nice facial hair," Jaemin winks.
"What?" Mark says as he takes out his phone to look. He just shaved before he left. Mark groans as he pockets his phone.
"Jaemin shut up," Renjun hisses as he smacks the back of his head. "Mark, seriously you look fine with facial hair."
Mark chuckles nervously, "Thanks." He doesn't tell them it's not about whether it looks good on him or not, it's the fact that it's growing at an unnatural rate and it's freaking him out. With all the prepping and worrying he was doing for prom, he had completely forgotten to ask his dad if he knew something.
"Ok, let's go grab Hyuck," Renjun says.
They walk next door to Donghyuck’s house. Both Jaemin and Renjun nudge him towards the door since he is Donghyuck’s date after all, so he'll be the one to knock. Mark does so and then shoves his hand in his pocket as he waits.
"Coming!" He hears the boy shout and then the thumping of footsteps rushing down the stairs. As soon as the door opens, Mark feels as if the whole world stops the moment he lays eyes on Donghyuck.
"So, how do I look?" Donghyuck says nervously and does a little twirl to show off his outfit.
"Hyuckie, you're gorgeous!" Renjun gasps.
"If you weren't already Mark's date, I would have asked you–ow! Renjun?!" Jaemin whines as he rubs his sore arm.
Donghyuck doesn't seem to be paying attention to their answers though. His eyes are locked on Mark's as he waits for the boy's answer.
"You look gorgeous, Hyuck," Mark whispers.
Donghyuck gives him the brightest smile and then grabs his hand. "You don't look so bad yourself, Markie," he winks and Mark looks away with a blush.
"Alright," Jaemin says as he looks at them. "Who's ready to party?"
˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖
Mark doesn't know why, but it's hot. Like extremely hot and he feels all sweaty. When he brings it up to the others, nobody seems to be having the same problem he has.
"You okay, Mark?" Donghyuck whispers to him as they walk into the building.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I think I need something to drink," Mark says as he wipes the sweat off his forehead.
Donghyuck nods his head and sets off to find something to cool down his prom date. As soon as he’s out of sight, a new voice speaks up.
“Whoa, Mark. You look like shit.” Yangyang says as he takes in Mark’s appearance. “Also nice facial hair, dude.”
Mark closes his eyes with a sigh. He really wished people would stop talking about his facial hair.
Renjun glares at his cousin. “Yangyang, don’t you have a date you should be terrorizing or something?”
Yangyang grins. “Nope, came here by myself.”
“Why does that not surprise me,” Renjun mutters, ignoring his cousins glare. He turns back to Mark. “Mark, you’ve been acting strange for the last few days. Are you ok?”
Mark can only nod his head. What else is he supposed to say because frankly he has no idea what's wrong with him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he mutters. Renjun doesn’t look very convinced, but lets it slide anyways.
“Mark!” Mark turns around to see Donghyuck with a glass of punch in his hands. “Here,” he says as he hands Mark the drink and gently dabs Mark’s forehead with a paper towel he found. “If you need to leave early just let me know,” Donghyuck’s worried voice says.
Mark shakes his head, there’s no way he’s ruining this day for Donghyuck, he knows how excited Donghyuck was for this day. He can’t ruin it for him. Mark tries to give him a warm smile to let him know he’s fine. “I’m fine, really I am. This night is all about you,” he somehow finds the courage to grab Donghyuck’s hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. “I want to make this the best night ever,” Mark says softly. He watches the way Donghyuck’s cheeks turn red and feels his own start to follow.
“Do you think there’s food here?” Jaemin’s voice interrupts them and Donghyuck sends him a hard glare before reaching out to smack him.
Yangyang lights up at the mention of food. “Yo, they actually have some nice stuff this year instead of that garbage they usually serve.”
At the mention of food, Mark’s stomach lets out a loud growl and he blushes, for different reasons this time, as all of his friends look at him. “I could go for some food,” Mark says sheepishly.
Donghyuck playfully rolls his eyes before squeezing his hand and then pulling him in the direction of food.
As soon as they reach the buffet table, Mark grabs a plate and piles the food on, not waiting to get to a table before stuffing them in his mouth. Mark’s not exactly sure what came over him, but the food here tastes delicious and he has trouble putting it down. It helps him forget about how hot it still is. He kind of just zones out for a bit until he notices Donghyuck staring at the dance floor full of couples.
Right, Mark. You’re at prom! Snap out of it
He finally sets down the platter of food and turns to Donghyuck, swiftly wiping his mouth and clearing his throat to get his date’s attention.
“Dance with me?” Mark smiles, holding his hand out for Donghyuck to take.
Donghyuck’s eyes instantly light up and he’s quick to grab Mark’s hand and drag him to the dance floor. “I thought you would never leave that plate of finger sandwiches for a moment,” Donghyuck giggles as he guides Mark’s hands to his waist and then wraps his own around Mark’s neck.
Mark gives him a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
Donghyuck just gives him that gorgeous smile and starts moving them to the song. Mark stares at him, absolutely memersized.
“You look so beautiful,” Mark says.
Donghyuck blushes and rolls his eyes playfully, “Mark, you already told me how nice I looked.”
Mark blinks. “I did?”
“ Yes, ” Donghyuck giggles.
“Oh, well maybe I just wanted to tell you again,” Mark pouts.
At some point during their dancing, Mark began to feel strange, but decided to brush it off as nervous jitters. The longer they dance, the more uncomfortable Mark feels, and he slowly realizes that it’s not because he’s dancing with the literal love of his life, of course not , but because the room is starting to feel suffocating.
He knows Donghyuck is saying something. Mark can see Donghyuck’s mouth moving, but his ears just feel so sensitive right now and he’s starting to get a headache from all the noise in the room, that he can’t hear anything Donghyuck is saying clearly. Was it always this loud? He feels like he’s hearing things he probably shouldn’t right now, like Jaemin telling Renjun he looks hot only for Renjun to slap his shoulder. But they're on the other side of the room so how?
“Mark?”
“Oh, sorry what was that?” Mark says as he turns his attention back to Donghyuck, except his head starts to spin so it’s a little hard to focus on the beautiful boy in front of him.
“I said you look really nice too,” Donghyuck teases.
“Really?” Mark squeaks out.
“Yes!” Donghyuck laughs. “Also, I know you’ve been really stressed about all that facial hair you’ve been growing, but I think you look very good with it,” he smiles.
Well if Donghyuck likes it then Mark does too now. Mark returns Donghyuck’s smile with his own shy one.
Suddenly, there’s a hand on his shoulder. “Mark! Your dad told me you were bringing a date.” Mr. Lee, or Uncle Ten, says as he gives the two of them a smile. Mark still doesn’t really know how he should be addressing him. The man’s been his dad’s friend for so long, but became Mark’s teacher at some point in high school, so he gets confused.
“Oh, uh yeah,” Mark chuckles.
“Mark here took forever to ask me, so I finally did it myself,” Donghyuck says proudly, earning a whistle from Ten.
“Sometimes if you want things done, you have to do it yourself,” he winks.
Mark’s not sure how the rest of the conversation went after that. He faintly registers Ten saying goodbye and then Donghyuck resting his cheek against Mark’s chest as they dance, but it’s getting harder and harder to pay attention. He feels as if the room is spinning and now his skin feels like it’s on fire.
“Mark-”
“Huh?” Mark says as he tries to pay attention to what Donghyuck’s saying.
“I said I’m so glad we got to go to prom together,” he says as he gives Mark a worried look. “Mark, are you sure you’re ok?”
“Yeah,” Mark clears his throat, trying to ignore the pain that has suddenly come. “I-I’m fine.”
Donghyuck frowns, “Mark are you sure-” Suddenly he lets out a loud gasp, eyes wide. “Mark, your eyes.” When Mark gives him a confused look, Donghyuck continues. “They’re–um. They’re yellow Mark.”
Yellow?
Mark stumbles away from Donghyuck, nearly collapsing on the floor as he tries to fish his phone out of his pocket. When he finally pulls it out, he’s met with bright golden eyes.
“Mark,” Donghyuck starts to say, confusion and worry laced in his voice. “What’s going on?”
“I-I don’t know?” Mark stumbles over his words. Suddenly he’s grasping his head in pain, he feels like his head is splitting in half. As he does he notices something sharp scrape against his skin and when he pulls his hand away, he sees sharp nails instead of his normal short ones he loves to bite. Donghyuck sees it too, letting out another gasp as he witnesses them grow right in front of him.
“Mark, are you ok?” Donghyuck tries to run to Mark to help him, but Mark quickly backs away from him, avoiding the hand Donghyuck reaches out. He tries to ignore the hurt expression that flashes across the younger boy's face as he does. “Mark-”
“I-I need to go,” he says, voice coming out hoarse. “I’m sorry Hyuck, but I can’t stay here any longer.” When Donghyuck tries to follow him, he quickly puts a hand up to stop him. “Hyuck-”
“Mark what’s going on? You’re scaring me!”
Mark feels his stomach drop when he sees the terrified look on Donghyuck’s face, and feels tears start to form in his eyes. “Hyuckie, I’m sorry–I know you were looking forward to this day but–” He suddenly lets out a gasp of pain. He has to leave now. He’s not sure why, but he just knows he needs to be in a safer place with less people and noise.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers one last time as he stares at the boy of his dreams, and then he’s running out of the building, ignoring the yells of his name.
˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖
Mark’s not sure where he’s going, he’s just running as fast as he can away from all the people, away from Donghyuck . His mind keeps going back to the moment Donghyuck looked at him with fear in his eyes. Mark wipes the tears off of his face and keeps running, trying to avoid all the trees as he goes deeper and deeper into the woods.
He can’t believe he just ruined this night for Donghyuck. He’s probably wishing he went with someone else. He could have had a normal date with a normal boy, but he got stuck with Mark. He probably wants nothing to do with Mark anymore.
Mark feels his foot getting tangled in a tree branch and he goes falling to the floor, gasping in pain. His whole body hurts and Mark just wishes he knew why. He wishes he knew why all these weird things have been happening this past week, but instead he’s left in the dark, figuring all of this on his own. He thinks it’s unfair. While everyone else is having the time of their lives, he’s out here, by himself. He closes his eyes and just wishes for the pain to finally fade.
“Mark!”
Mark is afraid. Afraid to get up. Afraid to turn his head. Afraid of Donghyuck seeing him like this. Afraid of whatever this is. All he wants to do is hide, but he can’t seem to find the strength to get up.
“Ma..rk? Is that you?” He hears Donghyuck inch closer.
Mark wants to answer him, to tell him to go back, but no words came out of his mouth. Only a whimper.
“Mark,” Donghyuck’s voice is almost a whisper. The leaves crinkle on the ground as Donghyuck kneels. He runs his hands through Mark’s hair, making way to Mark’s face and pulls it towards his. He sees Mark’s tears and wipes them away, holding back his own. “It’s okay, Mark. You’re okay,” he utters softly as he tries to wrap his hands around Mark and pulls him in. He doesn’t know how to comfort the other, despite wanting to with all his heart. So, he just holds him closer.
It took some time, but Mark eventually gives in and hugs back, relaxing into the embrace. Donghyuck continuously caresses Mark’s back, and they just sit there in each others’ arms. Feeling calm while the trees rustle and cars pass in the distance filling in their silence.
“Mark,” Donghyuck calls, gently pulling away. Mark can’t help but stare again, in awe of how beautiful he looks under the light of the full moon.
“I need you to know that this doesn’t change anything,” Donghyuck continues, his eyebrows furrowed, determination on his face. Mark thinks he looks so cute like this. He’s seen this look on Donghyuck’s face many times before, on a really difficult assignment, when Jaemin challenges him to some stupid bet. It’s one of his favorite expressions of Donghyuck, although there are many. And for some reason, something about the way they're facing each other makes Donghyuck look smaller than usual, which makes him even cuter.
“Mark, are you listening?” Donghyuck frowns, snapping Mark back to reality. He looks cute with a pout like this, too, but Mark doesn’t want to upset him, so he focuses up and nods. “Great, so like I was saying, this doesn’t change how I feel.”
How he feels? Mark wants to comment on that to clarify what that means, but for some reason, words just won’t come out of his mouth.
Donghyuck seems to understand, “What I mean, Mark,” he proceeds, looking straight into Mark’s eyes and takes a deep breath before declaring, “I like you. Like really, really like you. And whatever this is will not change it, so you have nothing to worry about.”
Mark freezes.
Donghyuck likes Mark? Not only does Donghyuck like him back, he’s saying that whatever this is that’s happening to Mark, doesn’t change the fact that this beautiful boy still likes him. Mark wants to say it back, he needs to say it back, but nothing comes out of his mouth so he decides to show how much he likes the boy too by just cuddling himself closer, enjoying the sound of his laugh.
“I take it you like me, too?” He giggles.
Mark tries his best to nod his head.
“Good,” Donghyuck says with a smile as he tightens his grip around Mark. They fall into comfortable silence after that, Mark resting his head against Donghyuck’s chest, listening to the rustling of leaves and crickets.
It was so quiet and peaceful. That is until a bright light appears in front of them and there stands Mark’s dad who looks at Mark and Donghyuck with shock. Donghyuck yells so loudly, not expecting it and even Mark jumps.
“Looks like Ten was right. Are you kids okay?”
Donghyuck, who has already accepted all the weird stuff that has been happening tonight, looks at Mark and nods his head.
“Yeah, we’re okay.”
˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖
“So, I think we need to have a talk.”
“A talk…”
Mark straightens up in his seat across his dad. After he magically showed up to pick Mark up during the incident, Johnny gave his tired and overwhelmed son some calming tea. Soon after, Mark fell asleep and woke up at some point in the morning completely back to normal.
Mark can’t remember much of what happened. The last thing he remembered clearly was running away from the dance hall when he noticed his hair was growing at a crazy rate and him feeling… something as he ran. Everything after was a blur. He remembers bits of his run, crashing through trees, falling, crying, and Donghyuck. Donghyuck who ran after him. Donghyuck who held him close. Donghyuck who told him that he still likes Mark no matter what, whatever that meant.
Wait. Mark replays the scene in his head. Donghyuck held him, looked straight in his eyes, and told him that he likes Mark. Donghyuck likes Mark back. Mark replays the scene over and over again, not believing it. Donghyuck likes Mark. Donghyuck likes Mark. Donghy—.
“Mark, bud,” Johnny interrupts Mark’s beautiful train of thoughts, “Are you feeling okay?”
Mark snaps out of it, clearing his throat. “Uh, yeah. I’m okay.”
“Good, good,” Johnny takes a deep breath before continuing, “So, first, I want to apologize for not having this conversation beforehand. I just didn’t know how to bring it up, or how to really talk about these things. I waited too long, and I’m sorry.”
Mark’s never seen his dad this serious before, not with him at least. The tone of the conversation is making him nervous. “Talk about what… exactly?” He asks.
“Well, Mark, you’re a growing boy,” Johnny starts, “Growing into a man. And growing into a man means that your body is changing.”
Mark groans, “So, we’re having the talk?” It’s true that they’ve never really had the talk before. Mark remembers how his friends would one by one reveal that their parents sat them down to explain the wonders of a growing body and how awkward the conversations were. He was always thankful that his dad never felt the need to bring it up, but here they are. This is not how he expected his morning to go.
“I guess it is the talk, yes,” Johnny confirms, “ As you may have noticed, these changes in your body. You’re getting harrier, taller, your voice is getting deeper, you might be feeling some strange–”
“Yeah,” Mark cuts in hoping to end the talk before it gets to the really awkward parts, “You don’t have to keep going. They talked about this stuff in health class.”
Johnny raises his eyebrows, pleasantly surprised. “They talk about this stuff in schools now?”
“Yeah, dad,” Mark confirms matter-of-factly. He knows his dad is old, but he didn’t think he was that old. How long ago was his high school for them to not have taught him these things in class?
“So, you know you’re a werewolf?”
“I’m a what?”
“A werewolf. I’m sure they’ve talked about your kind in class.”
Mark frowns, “Is this one of your pranks?” He asks, more confused than ever, “Because I don’t get it.”
“No, Mark,” Johnny replies, “Haven’t you noticed how your hair’s been growing unusually fast, your increase in appetite, your transformation in the full moon?”
Mark’s eyes widen. Everything is starting to fall into place. All the weird things that’s been going on with him in the past week makes sense now. “Oh my god, we’re werewolves.”
“Well, you are. I’m not.”
And Mark’s back to being confused again. “What…”
“Yeah, that’s the other thing…” Johnny purses his lips and sighs, “You were adopted, Mark. So, I’m not a werewolf, but you definitely are.”
If it was possible, Mark’s eyes are even bigger now, “I’m adopted????” He asks, clear shock in his voice.”
“Sorry to break it to you like this, bud,” Johnny confirms with his head down in guilt,”But I need you to know that I love you just as much as I would if you were my biological son.”
They sit in silence for a while. Mark taking in all the new information. Johnny waiting, giving him space to think and process everything.
“I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised,” Mark says, finally breaking the silence, “Everyone says that you seem too young to be my dad.”
Johnny laughs, “I’m flattered, but if anything, I should be your grandpa.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m 270 years old.”
Mark’s eyes widen again, “What? How?”
“I’m a really good witch.”
“You’re a witch??”
Johnny shrugs as if the information was obvious.
“Is that how you knew where to find me yesterday?” Mark asks, “Because you used some kind of magic-y thing to figure out that I was… transforming? And then used some other magic-y thing to find out where I was?”
“Well,” Johnny scratches his head, “Not that I couldn’t do those things, because I probably could, but I really just asked Ten to keep an eye on you.”
“Uncle Ten knows that you’re a witch?”
“Well, he’s a witch, too, so…”
Mark’s entire world has been shattered. “Are there any other magical people that I should know about?”
“Well, you remember uncle Taeil?”
“He’s a witch, too?”
“No, Mark, he’s a wizard,” Johnny scowls, “That’s offensive.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“I thought you said they taught you this stuff in school. Do they not teach you guys about cultural sensitivity?”
“No… that’s not what I meant,” Mark says embarrassed, “I thought you were gonna talk about… You know… growing, and changes… to the body like… you know?”
Johnny smirks, “Oh, you wanna talk about the birds and the bees, huh?”
“No!” Mark answers a little too loudly, earning a hearty laugh from Johnny. Thankfully, their doorbell rings before his dad can embarrass him further. “I’ll go get that.” Mark quickly declares before heading to the door.
He opens the door to find Donghyuck, clad in a baggy sweatshirt, shorts, and flip lops. Hair a little disheveled, but somewhat styled. Face cute as ever.
“Mark!” Donghyuck calls with a wide grin, “Why’re you so red?”
“I’m what?” Mark touches his face and feels the heat. He’s not sure if it’s from his dad’s teasing or from the fact that his crush is paying him a surprise visit. He fans his face and takes a breath to calm himself down. “What are you doing here?” He asks, trying to change the subject.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Donghyuck answers, “You and your dad left in a hurry yesterday, and the whole werewolfing out thing, I figured I should check in on you.”
“You knew I’m a werewolf?”
“Well, you looked like a big wolf yesterday, and you’ve looked human for as long as I’ve known you, so I kinda just made a guess.”
Brilliant. Donghyuck never fails to amaze Mark.
“I am pretty smart. That’s true.”
Mark chuckles nervously, “Did I say that out loud?”
Donghyuck laughs. Mark’s sure he’s red as a tomato again.
“Well, look who it is,” Says a voice from behind, “Little Donghyuck, how’ve you been?”
“Hi, Mr. Suh,” Donghyuck greets, “I’ve been good. How about you?”
“Good, good. I’ve been good, too,” Johnny responds, putting an arm around Mark’s shoulder, “So, what brings you to our doorstep this fine morning?” Mark doesn’t have to turn around to know that his dad is sporting a big, teasing smile on his face. He wants the ground to swallow him whole.
“I wanted to see if Mark was okay after last night,” Donghyuck answers, “And if he was, I was hoping we could continue our date, since ours was interrupted yesterday.” Donghyuck turns to Mark with a hopeful look on his face.
“I.. Uh… We could… Uhm.”
“He’d love to go,” Johnny answers for him, pushing him towards Donghyuck. He reaches for his wallet and sneaks some money into Mark’s shirt pocket. “You kids have fun and stay safe!” Johnny says before shutting the door in both their faces.
Mark turns his head to Donghyuck, baffled.
Donghyuck laughs, “Oh my god, I love your dad. He’s awesome.”
Mark smiles in agreement, “Yeah, he’s pretty great.”
“So,” Donghyuck turns, bright smile on his face, “I know your dad said yes, but do you wanna go on a date?”
Mark takes a hold of Donghyuck’s hand, “Let’s go.”
An hour later they find themselves eating tons of pizza and playing some of the arcade games. Donghyuck laughs as he watches Mark’s character die on the screen. Mark smiles as he hears it, then something clicks in his brain. He almost forgot.
“Mark, your characters about to die again-”
“I like you.”
Donghyuck turns to him in surprise, the video game suddenly not important. “What?”
Mark blushes as he averts his eyes. “I like you too, I didn’t get to actually say it before. So now I am.” He manages to meet Donghyuck’s eyes. “I really really like you too.” Barely a second passes by before Donghyuck is rushing at Mark and engulfing him in a hug.
“I really really like you too, you dummy! I’ve been waiting to hear those words for years!”
Mark laughs as he squeezes the boy he likes, the boy who likes him back, tight in his arms.