Archive of Our Own

Donghyuck is in the middle of unwrapping his straw from the plastic and puncturing it through the juice carton when Doyoung tells him the news. He startles, punching the straw through the whole box and having it spill everywhere.      

“What do you mean you can’t come tonight?” He asks, moving the box away from himself and tossing it in the trash.     

“I’m sorry Hyuck, but I have to show the new student around and he doesn’t get here until later this evening,” Doyoung explains, buying him another drink and placing the straw in himself.     

“Yeah, but I was finally able to go into the notes instead of through them on that song I was working on,” he mutters, pouting at the junior.      

Doyoung smiles, combing his hair down. “I’ll try to make it tonight, but if not, then I’ll treat you to dinner.”     

Donghyuck sighs, but nods, allowing the junior to lead the way to his class. “So, a new student?”     

Doyoung nods. “He’s from Canada.”     

Donghyuck pulls a face, looking over at him. “Why is he transferring over in the middle of January? Shouldn’t he have been here during winter break?”     

“I’m not sure, but he seemed nice when I talked to him over the phone.”     

Donghyuck hums, saying goodbye to the senior when they part ways and taking a spot in the back of the lecture hall. He doesn’t let it get to him that Doyoung is ditching him for some kid from Canada, there’s still his other friends that’ll show up for the performance night and there’s always Soohyun he has to try to out sing anyway.     

“Are you ready for the show?” Jaehyun asks later that night, helping him fix up his hair.      

“When am I not,” he asks, smiling up at the other. Jaehyun smiles back, spraying some hairspray and causing him to cough.      

“Alright, you’re all done. You’re up after Seulgi-noona.”     

Donghyuck sucks in a deep breath, walking over to the side and giving Seulgi a smile. He closes his eyes, running through his lines while he waits and trying not to let the nerves get to him. It’s going to be difficult going on after Seulgi and he’s not sure that he can follow up the number she’s put together, but it’s not like he can’t go on. He didn’t put in as many hours as he has to chicken out now. Seulgi comes back with a bright smile, glowing from her performance, and she gives Donghyuck words of encouragement as she walks past. Jaehyun gives him a warm smile and thumbs-up, ushering him along. The lights are blinding as always, but Donghyuck settles into the atmosphere like it’s breathing, walking up to the microphone and raising it. When the music starts up, he closes his eyes, feeling it within him and letting go. At the part he’s been having troubles with, he pulls out his in-ear in the left ear, mostly so he doesn’t deafen himself and so that he can hear himself outside of the earpieces. He finishes in a rush of breath, sucking in a deep breath and smiling out at the audience as they cheer loudly, bowing down to them before walking off stage.     

“You did amazing, Hyuck!” Jaehyun tells him, pulling him into a hug.     

“Thanks, hyung. Now where are the waters?”     

Jaehyun laughs, showing him to them and leaving to go perform with Doyoung. Donghyuck presses the bottle to his cheeks, leaning against the wall to calm down from the performance.

“Hyuck!”     

Donghyuck smiles, turning to see Doyoung walk in with a small bouquet of flowers and a smile. He takes them, hugging the older one afterwards.     

“I thought you had to show that boy around,” he says when they pull away.    

“I did, but I thought it would be fun to bring him to the performance. He’s sitting out there with the others right now, but I wanted to come see you.”     

Donghyuck hugs him again, thanking him. Doyoung hums, letting the sophomore hold onto him before pulling away.     

“Johnny said dinner was on him.”     

“Even better. Jaehyunnie-hyung should be finishing up here soon,” he says, looking over at the entrance of the stage.     

Doyoung nods, and they start talking about his performance with wide grins and excited breaths. Donghyuck clutches the flowers to his chest, feeling his own pair bloom under his ribcage the longer he talks to Doyoung. They congratulate Jaehyun when he comes off the stage and he complains about not getting a set of flowers for himself. Doyoung rolls his eyes, telling him he’ll get a pair at the showcase at the end of the semester. Doyoung stands off to the side as the show finishes and all of the singers congratulate each other. Donghyuck wraps an arm around Doyoung's waist, clinging to him as the junior leads them from backstage and puts his own arm around Donghyuck’s shoulders. They walk out of the building together, making their way to the subway and taking it to the restaurant Johnny texted them. The place is some Italian place with lowlights and fancy decorations. They’re seated towards the back of the room, two tables pushed together to fit their whole party and Donghyuck sits down at one end with Doyoung and Taeyong while Jaehyun heads to the other end.      

“You guys did great,” Taeyong tells them when they sit down.    

“It was alright,” Doyoung says, rubbing his palms. He shakes his head, smiling over at Donghyuck. “You killed it though. I’m glad our practice sessions were put to good use.”    

“Thanks, hyung.”

The three start talking, so Donghyuck looks down the table, spotting a new face sitting between Johnny and Yuta. He smiles up at Jaehyun when the junior sits down and greets him, soft around the edges and shy demeanor. Donghyuck blinks, watching him for a second before looking away and picking up the menu.      

“Oh, Tyong, Haechan,” Johnny calls, waving down towards his end of the table. “I don’t know if you’ve met him yet, but this is Mark, the student Doyoung-ah showed around earlier today.”     

The two greet the boy politely, the boy returning it back with a twinge to his words that can only come from being overseas.      

“You were right about him being from Canada,” Donghyuck notes, turning to Doyoung.     

“Canada?” Taeyong asks, looking at Doyoung for confirmation. “Jeez, that’s quite a ways away. How is he adjusting?”    

“Everything seems to be good to me,” Doyoung says, leaning back in his chair. “He’s rooming with Jungwoo-ah and when I was showing him around campus, he seemed to like it a lot.”     

“What’s he majoring in?” Donghyuck asks, looking back down at the table to find the boy’s attention being taken up by Yuta. Donghyuck looks away, not even going to try with that when it’s hard enough for him to get Yuta’s attention as it is.     

“You should talk to him sometime, Hyuck-ah,” Doyoung says, looking over at him. “He’s in the same year as you and who knows, you two might get along.”    

Donghyuck nods, shrugging his shoulders. “We’ll see. Maybe if I have time, but I’m trying to secure that spot with Baekhyun-sunbae right now…” Donghyuck trails off, staring down at the table as he thinks over the proposition the singer made him over winter break when he came to one of his showcases. He shakes his head, looking back at Doyoung. “I’ll try, hyung.”     

Doyoung nods, turning to Taeyong to talk about one of their classes. Donghyuck looks back down at the table, catching the boy’s eyes for a moment before he looks away. Donghyuck looks away as well, instead prodding at Johnny to buy him dessert for his amazing performance. 

Donghyuck doesn’t meet the boy anytime soon.     

Honestly, he doesn’t really try to. He doesn’t find a need to, not with the way his friends are running around shouting ‘Mark this’ and ‘Mark that.’ It’s always something when he hangs out with them even though the Canadian never seems to be around with them. Donghyuck finds out he was born in Toronto but moved to Vancouver as a kid and that the Seoul weather is nothing compared to what he’s used to from Jungwoo. Taeyong rants about how the boy is majoring in Composition and is an incredible songwriter. Now that interest Donghyuck, not enough for him to seek the boy out himself, but it was something. Johnny and Jaehyun have seemed to attach themselves to the junior, and Yuta seems to have taken a liking to him which is a little shocking, but maybe Donghyuck should’ve seen it coming.      

“Have you met this Mark?” Donghyuck asks, the a coming out as more of an o when he speaks the foreign name.      

Doyoung hums, not looking up from the sheet music they’re arranging in the choir room. “I did earlier this week at lunch. He’s nice, a sweet boy.” Doyoung pauses, looking up at him and causing Donghyuck to raise an eyebrow. “Maybe you should meet him, he would certainly have a good influence on you and maybe you would stop being such a menace all the time.”     

Donghyuck scoffs, going back to the sheets of paper. He drops the subject, the two of them listening to the soft pop coming from the radio as they work.      

It’s a little weird to learn things about a boy he’s never met, he’ll admit, but maybe he should make an effort to seek this Mark out. If he’s as good as his friends claim, it couldn’t hurt and yet Donghyuck doesn’t put in enough effort to do it. Three weeks fly by of him hearing about this Canadian between classes and running around campus doing side stuff, of him going off a memory of face under low lights, eyes even darker and smile even softer. He doesn’t mind his friends talking about the boy. They mostly mention something they did with him and Donghyuck thinks he’s seen Mark around campus, from a distance. Maybe in a class of his or in the courtyard, he’s sure he’s seen the boy in passing. Not enough for him to stop and do a double-take, but enough for it to stick in the back of his head during lessons or when he’s making a run with Doyoung for dinner.      

Donghyuck grabs the juice he just purchased, hiking his messenger bag up further and making his way to one of the practice rooms. It’s a Thursday, so he knows the rooms are going to be filled, especially since classes let out an hour ago, but maybe someone will take mercy on him and grant him a free space. He makes his way down the hall, listening to the faint sound of singing before stopping a door that’s cracked open. He pushes it open, the door not making a sound as the afternoon light fills the room in a faint glow, enough for it to stream through the windows and make the dust in the air visible. The first thing he notices is the strumming coming from the other side of the room as he steps inside and the next is the boy sitting at the piano. Donghyuck comes to a stop two steps from the door, blinking and looking around as if that’ll make the boy disappear.      

It doesn’t.     

Instead, Donghyuck stares at Mark as he strums lightly, voice just as light as he sings. Donghyuck takes in his hunched over form, the navy hoodie that’s bunched around his wrist and the dirty Converse, and finally he lands on the fingers picking away. He must make some noise, because those fingers stop and Donghyuck looks up to see Mark looking up at him, eyes wide behind thin-wired glasses. It really shouldn’t be as cute as it is, but Donghyuck’s staring back, heart picking up as every second passes.     

Mark clears his throat, scratching the back of his neck. “Sorry, did you need the room?”     

Donghyuck blinks, snapping himself from his trance. “No,” he says, stunted and completely different than how he normally is. “No, it’s fine.”     

“Are you sure? I can–”     

Donghyuck leaves before he can say anything else, shutting the door with more force than necessary and rushing down to the elevator. It’s only when he’s pressed the button to the ground floor that he bangs his head against the wall, partly because of how embarrassing that was and mostly because he still needed to practice. 

“That’s funny,” Doyoung says, looking up from his phone. “I’m finding genuine joy in this story.”     

“Okay, fuck off, hyung,” Donghyuck mutters. “I can tell the story of how you met Taeyong-hyung again.”     

“Fine, fine,” he concedes.      

“Well, it was definitely a way to meet someone,” Johnny says, taking some of Jaehyun's fries.      

“Eh, whatever. Maybe with my luck, I won’t have to see him and relive the embarrassment,” Donghyuck says–hopes. “Whatever.”

“And if you do?” Taeyong asks, clarifying with, “meet him again.”     

Donghyuck scratches the side of his head, looking off to the side. “I guess I'll introduce myself properly?” He shrugs, looking back at his friends. “Worst case I just charm him with my irresistible personality and we won’t have to talk about it again.”     

“It’s definitely resitable,” Doyoung tells him.     

“Jeez, hyung, no need to be so mean,” he pouts, crossing his arms and laying it on thick.      

“Yeah, Doyie, no need to be so mean,” Johnny agrees, catching on instantly. He wraps Donghyuck up in a hug, setting his head on top of his and patting his hair. “There, there, Hyuckie, hyung will make you feel better.”     

Doyoung scoffs, staring at them incredulously while Jaehyun starts laughing. He huffs, throwing a fry at them when Donghyuck pretends to cry. Donghyuck starts laughing, pulling away from Johnny. They leave the restaurant, Doyoung accompanying Donghyuck on the route towards the campus dorms while the other two leave in the opposite direction. Donghyuck rolls out his neck, rubbing at the knot in his shoulder on the subway. He parts from Doyoung before the campus so the elder can go to his own apartment, entering the dorm to find his roommate at his desk, headphones on while he types away at his computer. He gives Donghyuck a brief smile, turning back to his work, and Donghyuck grabs his stuff. He heads to the bathrooms, showering and changing before crawling his way back to his room and collapsing on the bed.

He gets lucky for all of three days until the fire alarms go off around four in the morning. Donghyuck startles, heart rate spiking to unhealthy beats at the shrill sound and white flashing. He grabs his slippers, waking his roommate up before grabbing his phone and booking it out of the room. The hallway is crowded when he gets out, but he joins the swarm, taking the stairs down. He calms down when he gets outside and walks away from the building, the cold biting at his legs and arms. Donghyuck breathes steadily out of his mouth, spotting Jungwoo and waving him over while wrapping his arms around himself.     

“There better be an actual fire that’s burning this building down,” he grouses when his friend gets to him.      

Jungwoo laughs, rubbing at his eyes and zipping his jacket up further. Donghyuck eyes it, eyes trailing down to the pants he’s wearing before looking down at his own shirt and shorts. Yeah, there better be a good reason they’re outside in below freezing temperatures two hours before his alarm is supposed to go off.      

“Do you know what’s going on?”     

Donghyuck looks up to see Mark looking at the building, bundled up in a puffy coat and scarf, seeming to be completely fine in his pants.      

“No,” Jungwoo replies, looking down at his phone. “I’m trying to find out right now.”     

“It was probably just some kid pulling a prank or burning dinner while cramming,” Donghyuck says between his teeth, shivering beyond belief.     

Mark looks over at him, frowning as he looks him up and down. “Do you want this…?”     

“Oh, Canada, right?” He asks, taking the two of them off guard. Donghyuck plasters on a smile, ignoring Mark’s face as it grows in more confusion and the urge to stick a sock in his own mouth. “I’m Lee Donghyuck, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”     

“Mark Lee,” he says.     

“Nice. I would shake your hand, but.” A gust of wind rips through the area, making the goosebumps on his skin more prominent and the chatter in his teeth worsen.      

“Here, take this,” Mark says, unzipping his coat to reveal a hoodie.      

“No, it’s fine, trust me,” he tries, freezing when Mark gets close to wrap the coat around his shoulders.     

“Take it,” he insists. “Trust me, I’m completely fine with what I have on.”     

Donghyuck takes a moment, looking at Mark’s face as white fog goes up between them with every breath. Mark stares back, hands still holding the jacket and thus caging Donghyuck in. Finally, Donghyuck nods mutely, breathing in and slipping his arms through the sleeves. Mark smiles, barely there with just an upturn of his lips, and zips the jacket up to the very top for him. Donghyuck watches him reach up to the scarf around his neck, opening his mouth to protest.      

“It’s fine,” Mark reassures, voice low and sincere as he wraps the scarf around Donghyuck’s neck. He meets his eyes for a moment before looking down as he tucks it into the jacket and puffs up the sides to cover Donghyuck’s ears. “There, now you won’t be freezing.”     

“Thanks,” Donghyuck tells him, taking in the warmth that’s lingering in the coat greedily. Mark shrugs, stepping back.    

“We should be fine to head in here soon,” Jungwoo says, eyeing the two with suspicion. He drops whatever it is, instead showing them his phone with a group chat pulled up. “Hyuck was right, someone burned their ramen and set the alarms off.”    

“I knew it,” he says, looking around the students gathered outside and glaring at them. “This is stupid, let me back inside. It’s freezing! I’m about to just head over to Doyoung-hyung and Taeyong-hyung’s place to crash on their couch.”     

Mark laughs, and it’s a small laugh, more timid than what Donghyuck is used to, but it’s still cute. They wait out for a few more minutes in silence, too cold to speak, but when they get inside, Donghyuck sighs in relief at the heat, rubbing his hands together as he walks up the stairs with the other two. He parts from them a floor below their’s, walking in to find his roommate passed out already. Donghyuck freezes when he unzips the coat, groaning softly at the fact he forgot to give it back. This just warrants another visit back to Canada–-a trip Donghyuck frankly doesn’t want to make.

Donghyuck’s flipping through his notes from his morning lecture, sitting at the piano and trying to make sense of what he’s written. He moves to the floor when Doyoung comes into the room with lunch, laying down next to Jaehyun. The school he’s attending receives very generous donations for a good percentage of their departments, the music room included, so while most people try to snag the practice rooms on the first level or the basement, the ones with concealed walls and a space away from distractions, Donghyuck finds the rooms on the upper two levels to be in his preferred ones for the days he’s not taking lessons or working on a project for an assignment or event. These rooms have windows overlooking the campus and furniture that gives the room a more lively feel, the room hosting some larger instruments but otherwise being bare. He finds himself in the corner room on the second floor more often than not, his friends filtering in whenever they want to to hang out. Sometimes he’s in the room by himself running through a song or essay, other times Doyoung is in here with him helping him with an assignment or talking, and other times it’s a full party of them coming together on their off days or during the night, having a little writing and singing session.     

Now Donghyuck just finds himself frowning down at his notebook while Jaehyun reads for one of his classes.      

“Well, isn’t this a lively crowd,” Doyoung notes, closing the door behind him and sitting down.     

“We’re having a blast, hyung,” Donghyuck tells him, not looking up from deciphering his notes. “Come join us, there’s food, and music, and drinks.”    

“Okay, that’s enough.” Doyoung places a takeout tray in front of him. “Here.”     

Donghyuck murmurs a thanks, opening up the food and taking a bite. The room lapse into silence as the four of them work on their respective work. At some point, Jaehyun asks if he can borrow a highlighter and pen, and Donghyuck points him to his backpack without much thought.     

“Oh, this is a nice coat.”     

Donghyuck looks up to see Jaehyun holding up the folded coat he shoved into his bag this morning, and he sits up quickly.     

“Oh, that’s not mine.”     

This raises some eyebrows and Doyoung looks at him, asking, “It’s not?”     

“No,” he says, trailing off awkwardly. He takes the coat back, folding it up and placing it back in his coat. “It’s Mark’s, he lent it to me during the fire alarm and I’ve been meaning to give it back to him.”     

“Oh.”     

Donghyuck hands Jaehyun his supplies, moving back to his spot and sliding his notes away. Doyoung then lights up with a smile.      

“So you finally met Mark?”      

“As much as you can meet someone at four in the morning in the freezing cold, yes.”     

Doyoung laughs, sliding his laptop away. “Did you like him?’     

Donghyuck takes a moment to note how none of them were informed about this despite the fact it’s been two days since the incident and he was positive Jungwoo was going to spam their group chat going off the looks he was receiving that night.     

“He’s nice,” Donghyuck says, feigning nonchalance. “I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to him, but he seems cool.”     

Doyoung nods, smiling at him. “Good,” he says, pleased. “I’m glad you met him though, he’s a good kid.”     

Donghyuck hums, not saying much after that. He downs most of his food, packing the rest up and leaving the room to attend his next lecture. He takes a seat in the back of the hall off to the side, hiding his food behind his computer and sneaking bites. When he’s done, he packs up and sticks the sticky note of the books he needs for his essay to the back of his phone case, making his way out of the lecture hall. He heads over to the choir room for practice and then grabs dinner with some of his friends there before heading to the library and setting up there. The clock is nearing 8:30 when he sighs, rubbing his eyes under his glasses and taking his headphones out as they start to hurt. 

A soft groan comes from a few aisles over, causing him to pause. He looks up, looking over at the place and listening harder. It takes a few minutes, but the sharp breath that teters the line of whining comes out and Donghyuck tenses up. He looks out at the library, trying to see if anyone else is hearing this, and his eyes land on Mark who’s looking at the aisle, looking like he wants to die on the spot. There’s a soft thud and Donghyuck turns to see the bookshelf shake, his mouth falling open and he looks back at Mark to see his eyes blown wide. They look at each other, embarrassment seeping into both of their faces and the corners of their lips turning up the longer they listen. A moan comes from the aisle and Donghyuck loses it, bending over and laughing. He tries to quiet it, but the silence that comes from the aisle pushes another round out of him.      

He looks up to see a Mark in a similar state, a hand covering his mouth as he looks from the aisle and then him.      

“Oh my god, what a joke,” he mutters, packing his stuff up. He stands up, looking over at Mark to find him watching him. He bites his lip, thinking it over before tilting his head and eyebrows in a silent question, hoping Mark will get it. He seems to because he packs his stuff up as well, slipping his bag onto his back and the two make their way out of the library in silence.      

“Well, that was interesting,” Mark says when they get outside.      

“Tell me about it,” he agrees, zipping his coat up and pulling the hood up.      

“You know, I don’t think I was expecting my first time in the library to be listening to a couple have sex in the aisle,” Mark says, eyebrows pinching in pain.      

“I don’t understand it. I’m not one to discriminate, but seriously, a library? There couldn’t have been a better spot? This campus is ginormous.”      

Mark laughs, shoving his hands in his pocket. “It was definitely something.”     

“Have you eaten dinner?” Donghyuck asks, looking over at him.      

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t mind something to eat. Maybe we could stop at the campus store?” Mark looks over at him in hesitance, mouth tilting upwards, and eyes wide and soft.      

Donghyuck nods, looking ahead and feeling an urge to start crying. “Definitely,” he says, gesturing an arm out. “Let me introduce you to the wonder that is our campus store.”     

“Oh, Jungwoo actually already—”     

“Let me introduce you to the wonder that is our campus store,” Donghyuck repeats, holding out a hand and closing his eyes. Mark starts laughing and Donghyuck smiles, looking over at him as they change course. “How have you been liking the campus?”     

“Um, I still get turned around sometimes,” he says, watching his feet. “But I really like it. Jungwoo and Taeyong-hyung have been a big help.”     

Donghyuck hums, nodding in understanding. “You’re majoring in composition with Taeyong-hyung, right?”      

“Yeah. I was originally majoring in English Literature and minoring in Composition back in Vancouver, but when I transferred over, I just dropped my Literature major since it didn’t transfer over,” Mark explains.      

“Well, hopefully your stay so far has been welcoming,” Donghyuck says as they approach the store. “Or at least interesting.”      

“It’s been good,” Mark says, holding the door open for him. “Definitely interesting, but good.”     

Donghyuck hums softly, meeting his eyes before entering the store. “Welcome to the campus store,” he says, waving a hand around. “To our left is our lovely cashier, and to the right is an aisle of all the snacks your heart desires. In the back are the drinks and hot foods, may I recommend the taquitos we sell. They’re imported monthly from the States.”      

Donghyuck looks over to see Mark looking at him with a small smile, amusement shining on his face as he laughs softly.      

“Please, choose whatever you wish, it’s on me.” Donghyuck pats his chest, nodding and closing his eyes. He catches the last of Mark’s eye roll when he opens his eyes, following the Canadian further into the store. He grabs two taquitos from the heating rack, gesturing for Mark to get some while he grabs a drink and snack for tomorrow. The cashier rings them up with a tired smile, accepting Donghyuck’s card. Mark thanks him when they get outside, setting his drink in the side pocket of his bag. 

Donghyuck watches him take a bite of the taquito, smiling at his pleased face. “Good, right?”      

“It’s definitely been a while since I’ve had one,” he agrees.      

They walk back to the dorms, making conversation as they go. Donghyuck asks him about his classes (he was right, they share Statistics together) and Mark asks about some things on campus. When they get to the dorm building, they pass their RA who’s hunched over a massive text book and computer. She waves at them as they enter and take the elevator up. Mark follows him out of the elevator when they get to their floor, stopping right outside his door.      

“Thanks for the snacks,” he says when they stop.      

“Anytime.” Donghyuck then opens his bag and yanks his coat out. “I’ve been meaning to give this back to you, actually.”    

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Mark says, taking that and the scarf when Donghyuck hands it to him, tucking the cost under his arm and tying the scarf around his neck. “I completely forgot about these.”     

“How? You should’ve come to me earlier to get them, it’s freezing outside,” Donghyuck tells him, tone incredulous. Mark laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging. “Crazy,” he mutters, shaking his head.      

“Hey, watch it.”     

Donghyuck laughs, taking the key from his pocket. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, definitely. Thanks again for tonight,” Mark says, starting to walk backwards down the hall.      

“Anytime, Canada,” Donghyuck calls, opening his door and walking in. He catches Mark’s smile before the door fully closes, shaking his head and locking it to get ready for bed. 

It takes them a while to become friends, Donghyuck will admit. There’s a lot of stumbling and awkward moments, both of them wanting to say more and yet falling short on what that more should be. Mark takes the chance to sit next to Donghyuck in their stats class, which is probably not the best because Donghyuck finds himself teasing the boy more than learning numbers. Whatever. Mark often buys him a juice after that class and will walk him to his next class, Donghyuck making it up by waiting for him after Mark’s last class because his lets out earlier.      

It takes them a while to become friends, but by the end of February, Donghyuck’s found himself a best friend. Not a brotherly best friend like Taeyong, or a rivalry like Doyoung. Not someone who’s like a father at this point like Johnny is, but a friend that’s similar in age. Donghyuck likes it. He told Mark, one night while they were in his dorm room since Jungwoo was out, “Can we speak informally?”

“Informally?” Mark asked, looking up in surprise from his book.      

“Yeah. I’m not interested in Mark my hyung, I’m interested in Mark my friend.”     

Mark hummed, looking away to think about it.      

“Please?”     

“I don’t know, I feel like you’re going to use this to your advantage.”     

Donghyuck gasped, eyes widening in mock offense. “I’m wounded that you think this lowly of me.”     

Mark gave him a look, head tilting downwards while an eyebrow rose and Donghyuck tried not to focus too much on his eyes. “Please, you know it’s true.”     

Donghyuck pouted, shuffling over to Mark and getting in front of him so they were close together. “Please, Markie? Hyung should be nice and let me be informal with him so I can get to know him more,” he whined, laying the cuteness on thick and laughing at the disgusted sounds Mark made as he reeled back.

Donghyuck collapsed on the bed in a breathless fit, looking over at Mark to find him pretending to retch. When they calmed down, Donghyuck asked again, and after some prodding and because Mark is Mark and very much Canadian, he gave in.      

“Has Taeyong-hyung talked to you about his club?” Donghyuck asks randomly on the first weekend of March. Mark texted him earlier that Jungwoo was out with his bio friends and Donghyuck packed a bag, making his way up a floor and throwing himself on Mark’s bed.      

Mark looks up from the notebook he’s writing in, the one Donghyuck has seen him carry around with him since he got here, stashed away in the second pocket of his backpack, always there for whenever he needs it. When he doesn’t have that, he’ll open up a note on his phone and type something down on there below the list of other sentences written down, pocketing it away for later and zoning back in on whatever it is that’s happening.      

“Club?”     

“Yeah, he and Johnny-hyung started a club their junior year. It’s kind of just our friend group, but I was wondering if he talked to you about it. He practically forced Doyoung-hyung and I to join,” Donghyuck recalls, looking off to the side for a minute. He shakes his head, tuning back in on Mark. “I was just wondering because we have a meeting this Wednesday and I haven’t seen you at the other ones.”    

“No, he hasn’t brought anything up about it to me.”          

“Weird,” he hums.      

“Yeah, but hyung’s been busy and I’m still settling in, so it’s not that big of a deal.”     

“Well, you can come if you want to. We mostly just get together to work on some songs, sing a little, mess around. It’s fun, super chill,” Donghyuck tells him. “Normally the first part is talking about any performances coming up we can participate in or setting up volunteer work to do.”     

“That sounds fun, I’ll have to take you up on that.”     

Donghyuck hums, watching as Mark turns his attention back on his notebook. He watches him for a bit before shuffling over, trying to get a peek at the words being written. 

“Yah.”     

“What are you writing?” Donghyuck asks, looking up at Mark.     

“Nothing.”     

“Lies, tell me,” he begs, bouncing on the bed.     

Mark starts laughing, closing the book and setting it on his desk. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”    

Donghyuck sighs dramatically, flopping down on his bed. “You’re so lame, hyung.”     

“I’m not!”     

“You are,” he repeats, staring up at the ceiling.      

“You’re so difficult, Hyuck.”     

“Me?!” Donghyuck asks, leaning up on his elbows to look at the other sophomore as he perches on the edge of his bed. “I’m not the one writing angsty poetry in my notebook like a middle schooler!”     

Mark slaps his thigh harshly, looking like he regrets it immediately when Donghyuck grins, raising an eyebrow.      

“Oh, do that again,” he tells him, winking cheekily and adding, “harder this time.”     

Mark grabs one of his pillows before Donghyuck can react, forcing it on his face as he sits on top of him. Donghyuck screams, not caring about his noise level, fighting the other for his life and enjoying the smile on Mark’s face as he tries to suffocate him.

“We’re going on a field trip,” Taeyong tells the club on Wednesday before the meeting comes to an end.      

“College kids go on field trips?” Donghyuck asks, drinking the complimentary juice box loudly and staring at the club co-leader. Mark smacks him, looking at him with a smile and Donghyuck matches it with a grin, bringing the box away from his mouth.      

“Well, it’s not exactly a field trip,” Taeyong rushes, turning to Johnny for help. “Well, it is, but…”    

“It’s a field trip,” Johnny tells them, ignoring the exasperated sigh that comes from his fellow senior. “We’re going to do something at the end of the year, but we want to get in as many things as we can with you guys before we leave.”    

“Aw, you guys do love us,” Jaehyun teases, looking up from his seat next to Doyoung.      

Taeyong waves him off, turning to the club. “It’s the last Friday of April. An email has already been sent to your professors about your whereabouts if you plan on going, just make sure you catch up on any work you miss. We’re going to the aquarium downtown if any of you plan on attending.”     

With that, the meeting is called to an end and everyone moves about their own groups, trickling from the practice room group by group. Donghyuck walks up to Doyoung, Taeyong, and Johnny, plastering himself on Johnny's back.     

“Why’d we decide on the aquarium?”     

Johnny pats his arms, moving him away from his back so he’s standing in their little circle. “Tyong just wanted to take photos,” he tells him. Taeyong slaps him on the arm, earning a smile from the senior as he moves away.      

“It’s okay, hyung, I’ll be sure to get amazing photos for you, don’t worry,” Donghyuck tells him, laughing at the annoyance that shows up.      

“Okay, come on, clear out of the room,” he says, moving them towards the door. “Some of us have things to do.”     

“Hyung, let's go to dinner,” Donghyuck says, smiling sweetly at Doyoung.      

“Go ask Johnny to treat you. I haven’t gotten paid yet.”     

Johnny sighs before he can say anything, saying dinner’s on him and earning cheers from their friends.      

“Canada, Mark!” Donghyuck shouts, gesturing for him to come over with Jaehyun.     

“Stop calling me Canada,” he tells him, shoving his arm slightly.   

“Why? Isn’t that it? Come on Canada, eh? ”      

Mark starts laughing, loud and bright and taking Donghyuck by surprise. He grabs onto Mark’s waist when he leans onto him for support, not really knowing how to handle this or himself.      

“Goodness, no, it is not that,” Mark tells him, cheeks flushed when he starts to calm down.      

“I’m sure it’s that,” Donghyuck says, letting his arm drop from the other.      

“Definitely not.”     

“I’m sure it is,” Donghyuck repeats, holding back his laughter.     

“It’s not! I’m the Canadian, I know what it is.”     

“Oh Canada,” Donghyuck says, tutting lightly and shaking his head. “This is Korea.”     

He dips away from Mark before he can retaliate, grinning fiercely as he joins in on Doyoung's conversation. Mark sits next to him at the restaurant, the two huddling up in the corner of the booth and getting lost in their own little world, much too focused on each other and their dumb conversations to pay attention to everyone else. They split off from everyone else when they leave, deciding to take a walk around campus before slowly making their way back to the dorms when the clock starts nearing ten.      

“I have this performance thing at the end of the month,” Donghyuck tells him, tucking his hands into his pockets and looking down at the ground. There’s still some snow in areas that don’t see the sunlight during the day, but the weather is supposed to be hiking up by next week, so Donghyuck’s holding out hoops because this cold isn’t doing it for him. “Do you want to come to it?” 

“Yeah, definitely.” Mark looks over at him and asks, “am I supposed to bring you something?”     

Donghyuck pretends to think this over, kicking his legs out further as he walks to try to get some feeling back into them. “A million dollars and a contract that’s already signed with a label,” he tells him, laughing with Mark. “Oh, and those chocolate bars from the campus store that are always sold out.”     

“I’ll see what I can do about the candy,” Mark tells him, holding the door open to the dorms. “Not sure I can get you everything else.”      

Donghyuck curses, shaking his head. “I thought you were going to be able to pull through, Canada,” Donghyuck says, walking into the elevator backwards.     

“I would if I could,” Mark says, following him in and almost caging him against the wall. He clears his throat, turning to press the button to their floors and standing next to Donghyuck.      

Donghyuck tsks, breathing a little easier now that Mark isn’t in front of him. The ride up is silent and when it stops on his floor, Donghyuck says goodbye and promises to come bug him later. Mark rolls his eyes, telling him he won’t hold it against him. He smiles at that, heading to his room and crashing. His roommate asks him why he’s been out so late, but Donghyuck mumbles his reply into his pillow and they don’t speak the rest of the night.      

“What are you thinking about doing for your song?” Doyoung asks that Saturday.      

“I don’t know,” he muses, leaning back on the couch. “You see,” he starts, turning to Doyoung who’s sitting on the floor and going through his bag. “I’m kind of like a jukebox. There’s just so many songs available that you could tell me to sing this and I’ll know it already.”     

Doyoung laughs softly, shaking his head and punching his thigh. “Be serious.”    

Donghyuck sighs, leaning back against the couch. “I don’t know, everything seems boring right now.”      

Doyoung hums, packing up his bag and giving him a comforting smile. “You’ll figure it out. Let me know what you want to do and I can help you with it.”     

“Thanks, hyung.”      

Doyoung nods, leaving the practice room and after checking his phone to make sure his afternoon is cleared, Donghyuck decides to take a nap. He tugs the hoodie he stole from Mark the other day tighter around him, eyes already closing from the sun shining on him and casting everything in a hazy glow. It’s soothing, enough for him to fall asleep easily without a fit and when he wakes up, it’s six in the evening and the sun is already setting. He stretches, rubbing at his eyes and blinking them open sluggishly. 

He frowns when he sees Mark’s guitar case propped up against the piano along with a book resting on it, highlighter placed in the center to hold his spot. Donghyuck gets up, walking from the room to use the restroom down the hall and when he gets back, he grabs his phone and opens up Mark’s contact only to have said boy walk into the practice room in a soft hoodie and glasses.      

“Oh, you’re up,” he notes, closing the door behind him. Donghyuck hums, sitting down on the couch as Mark makes his way over. “I picked up some food because it was getting late.”      

“Thanks,” he says, taking the bag and opening it up. He hands one box to Mark and takes the other for himself, smiling at the warmth and smell that hits his face. He looks over to find Mark watching him with a pleased smile and suddenly shy, turns back to his food. 

“What are you doing here?” He asks, sitting up straighter and turning to face Mark.      

“Well, I was hoping to catch you here doing…whatever,” he says, copying his movement. “I was just bored and didn’t feel like sitting in my dorm, but you were sleeping so I just hung out here and read.”     

“You could’ve woken me up,” he says, taking a large bite of food.      

“It’s fine. You seemed like you needed it anyway.” 

Donghyuck can’t exactly refute that, so he instead takes another bite of food and zones out. When they finish, Mark gets up to throw their trash away and grabs his guitar on the way back. He settles close to Donghyuck, their thighs brushing and the scent of his cologne invading Donghyuck’s nose.      

“I’ve been working on this new song,” Mark tells him, sitting the guitar better on his lap. “Do you want to try it out?”      

“Definitely,” he agrees, scooting closer so they’re touching.      

Mark nods, fingerings laying out a chord as he looks down at them. Donghyuck watches him and as he starts strumming, he places the tune as a love song that was popular on the radio a few years back. Mark stops before he can start singing, starting over, and looking up when Donghyuck starts singing the words. They meet eyes when Donghyuck gets to the pre-chorus and Mark stops. Donghyuck reels back in embarrassment, slapping his hands over his eyes and laughing. Mark lets out a high sound, laughing as well and pulling him to sit up.      

“Okay, again,” Donghyuck says, shaking out his nerves.      

Mark starts playing the song again, Donghyuck following and looking down at Mark’s guitar. They get to the pre-chorus and Donghyuck clutches the throw pillow he grabbed closer to his chest, looking up to meet Mark’s eyes during the chorus. Mark smiles, fingers moving seamlessly against the fretboard as Donghyuck settles more into the song. There’s a warm feeling coursing through him as the song comes to an end and he asks Mark to play another one because he’s not ready to move from the little bubble they’ve created.      

Donghyuck doesn’t know how long they spend in the practice room messing around and playing songs, but when the night starts wrapping up with Donghyuck’s head resting on Mark’s leg, the two of them spread out across the couch and talking lazily, it’s enough for him to have an idea of what to do for his performance. 

Donghyuck tosses the flowers Johnny gave him for his performance out, the flowers now wilted and dead. He looks out the window of his dorm to find the sun shining down and he grabs a light hoodie before making his way outside. The weather is finally warm enough for him to retire his heavy coat and switch it out for a hoodie, and he couldn’t be more thankful. Donghyuck stops at the campus store, frowning when there’s no more chocolate bars and walking out. He texts the group chat, trying to find what people are up to get a response that some of the boys are having lunch on the campus lawn if he wants to join.     

He finds Taeyong and Doyoung bickering on the blanket they’ve laid out, Jaehyun talking with Johnny while Marks lays down on the grass, legs tucked up and arm thrown over his eyes. Donghyuck taps the side of his leg, leaning over him and blocking the sun. Mark removes his arm, frowning up at him.      

“Oh, hey.”     

“Tired?” Donghyuck asks, tilting his head.      

Mark shrugs, squinting up at him. “Sure.”     

Donghyuck grins widely. “Aw, I’ll keep you company, hyung.”    

“Hyuck, no–”     

“It’s okay, hyung can rest on me,” he says, falling on top of the sophomore. Mark groans loudly, trying to curl into himself, but Donghyuck prevents that, smothering him and cooing cheesily. Mark rolls him off, glaring over at him while Donghyuck plasters a large smile on his face.      

“I hate you,” he tells him.     

“Sure, Canada.”     

Mark rolls his eyes, sitting up and grabbing a sandwich. He rips off a piece when Donghyuck opens his mouth, placing it in there and taking a large bite after. Donghyuck turns his head to the side, looking at their friends who are talking amongst themselves. He turns back to Mark with an inquisitive stare.     

“You’ve been oddly silent this past week and a half,” he says.     

Mark hums, eyes scrunching up in confusion before nodding. “Yeah, about that actually,” he starts, scratching at the back of his neck. Donghyuck feels his heart seize up, mind going to scenarios of Mark’s citizenship getting revoked or him getting involved with loan sharks. Crazy things like that.    

“You know how Taeyong-hyung has that thing set up with Chanyeol-sunbaenim once he graduates?” He asks, Donghyuck nodding because of course he does, they celebrated the night Taeyong told them and Donghyuck doesn’t remember what happened after the clock hit one.      

“Yeah, what about it?”     

“Well, he listened to some of the songs I’ve written and told me I could have a position to work with him when I graduate,” Mark says, voice getting quieter towards the end of the sentence. He looks down at his sandwich, cheeks darkening to a light pink.      

Donghyuck stays silent, running those words over his head before popping up and startling Mark. He throws his arms around him, squeezing the life out of him. “That’s amazing! Oh my God, why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”     

“I don’t know,” Mark says, catching Donghyuck’s hand before it can rain true assault down on his arm. “I really only told Taeyong-hyung, Johnny-hyung, and my mom.”     

“Mark,” Donghyuck complains before shaking it off and grinning, scooting closer to him. “That’s amazing, I’m so proud of you.”     

Mark looks down, cheeks darkening. Donghyuck looks off to the side, the words Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and company clicking.      

“Oh my God,” he shouts, looking back at Mark with wide eyes.     

“What?” He asks, concern taking over.      

“We might be able to work at the same company,” Donghyuck tells him, getting more excited with every word coming from his mouth. “If I’m able to secure that spot working with Baekhyun-sunbaenim then we’ll be at the same company.”     

Mark throws his head back, groaning and pouting at him. “I’m still going to be stuck with you after we graduate?”     

“You want to separate now?” Donghyuck asks, arms resting on Mark’s shoulders. “I think four months is a little too late to return a receipt.”     

Mark laughs, falling to the ground. Donghyuck looks down at him with a smile, hitting his chest lightly.     

“You’ll write songs for me, right Mark? When I first debut and when I become a global sensation, will you write my songs?” He asks, trying to keep that light tone to his voice but getting too emotional with it.     

He can’t exactly do anything about it when Mark looks up at him with incredibly soft eyes and a sweeter smile, nodding lightly. The hand on his waist tightens and it takes Mark a moment, but Donghyuck feels his breath lodge in his throat waiting for those words.      

“Of course I will, Hyuck.”     

Donghyuck smiles, less big and more deeper than he means, heart growing too much for him to know what to do with it. Mark keeps his stare on him so Donghyuck turns his palm over in Mark’s hand, interlacing their fingers and staring down at them while giving the hold a light squeeze.     

“Good.”

It feels like a promise, a next step for something more. 

The end of April sneaks up on him in a way he doesn’t appreciate at all and the only thing saving him from spiraling as the month of May approaches is the field trip the club scheduled. They really did pick the best date to do this because the idea of finals and the Spring Showcase has him a new type of nervous.      

“You’re going to be fine,” Mark tells him as they deboard the bus with the rest of the club members.      

“I’m not,” Donghyuck says, following them down the street to the aquarium. “I know what song I want to do, yes, but it’s such a hard song and Baekhyun-sunbaenim is going to come so I cannot screw this up. I’m having issues holding this one note in the song, it’s such a difficult song, and if I come off as too breathy and it seems like I can’t hold it, there’s no way Baekhyun-sunbaenim is going to take me on to work with him. And I need this Mark, I need to work and train with him, it’s my ticket into the industry.”     

“I know, I know,” he placates, walking through the detectors and giving his bag to the security guard after. “You’re going to do amazing,” he tells him again when they meet up at the front entrance to the exhibits. “Trust me.”     

Donghyuck bites his lip, looking into Mark’s eyes to see the steadiness and ease in them. He nods, taking in a calming breath and releasing it slowly.     

“You’re right.”     

“I’m always right.”    

Donghyuck makes a noise, pulling a face and looking away. “I wouldn’t go that far, but sure, whatever you say.”     

“Okay, you know what?” Mark sucks in a deep breath, pulling a laugh from Donghyuck. “Whatever. You still have a whole month to screw up your song and restart to perfect it, you’ll be fine, Hyuckie.”     

Donghyuck hums, latching onto Mark despite his protests before pulling away and grabbing his wrist, leading him into the exhibit once everyone is together. The first exhibits are some small ones with dimly lit tanks that Donghyuck has to get close to to see inside. Mark leans down next to him, their heads close while they point out different types of fish. Mark gets fed up with him the longer he keep pointing to fish and claiming they look like him, but he doesn’t say anything and instead has a small smile on his lips.      

It takes them a while before they get to the petting stations which has the two of them flicking water at each other and they almost melt on the spot at the exhibit with the otters. Donghyuck plays with them, twirling around and sticking his hands up to watch the otter copy him, Mark laughing at them in the background with amusement and fondness. When they get back to the closed-in exhibits, Mark reads the words off of the signs. Donghyuck doesn’t care much about them, instead trying to find all of the species in the tank, but he doesn’t mind, especially when Mark’s voice gets more excited when he learns something cool and looks at Donghyuck with bright eyes.     

“Electric eels have enough electricity to kill a horse,” Donghyuck reads off of a sign, reeling back in surprise.      

“Really? No way.” Mark reads the sigh as well before they turn to the tank.      

“Oh, there it is!” Donghyuck shouts, pointing to the bottom of the tank where the eel is swimming around near some coral. “Do you see it?”     

“Where?” Mark asks, trying to bend down.      

“Here, come this way,” Donghyuck says, scooting over and moving Mark over as well. “It’s down in that coral over there.”      

Mark squints, leaning closer to the glass to look. “I don’t see it.”    

They spend a little bit trying to get Mark to see it and Donghyuck shouts at him after he still doesn’t see the eel.      

“Oh! I see it,” he finally says, laughing.      

“Ugh, finally,” Donghyuck groans. “Come on, we lost the others.”     

They walk into the next section of the aquarium, Donghyuck gasping at the sight in front of them. It’s a large tunnel, lit by light that makes it look like sunlight while sea creatures swim all over. He walks into the tunnel, looking around with a large smile at all of the fish. He points up at a brightly colored fish, turning to look at Mark only to find him standing at the beginning of the tunnel watching him get excited over the fish. His eyes are intense but soft, coupled with an endeared smile that Donghyuck feels in himself as he waves him over.    

They spend a few minutes in the tunnel before walking into the next exhibit that’s two large walls with sea animals, finding the group to be looking around in there. They stand in the middle of the wall to the left, looking around and standing close to each other in silence. Donghyuck looks over at Mark’s face, noting how pretty he looks in the bright lighting, but reveling in the fascination and awe that swims in his eyes. He turns back to the fish when he feels Mark’s hand brush his, blushing and trying not to bring attention to his new shyness. Mark’s hand disappears and Donghyuck tries to control his breathing, pushing it off as just a brush of a hand, but then Mark’s hand is back. Donghyuck takes in a silent breath, reaching out with his own hand and grabbing Mark’s. His grip tightens on Donghyuck’s hand, but he’s the one to interlace their fingers, giddiness and pleasure coursing through him at hand holding.     

“Are you ready for lunch?” Mark asks two hours later when they finally finish the aquarium.      

Donghyuck sticks his hands in his back pockets, looking around at the multiple seas of fish hanging from the ceiling. “Definitely, I’m starving.”     

Mark agrees and they wait in line behind the others, discussing the menu options and laughing at the bad titles that try to tie into sea creatures. Mark pays for their meal before Donghyuck can do anything, sending a round of fluttering through his heart at the gesture.      

“Do you want to go fill up our drinks while I wait for the food?” He asks, handing the drinks over.      

“Sure, what do you want?”     

“Just a Sprite please.”     

Donghyuck nods, walking over to the fountain. Doyoung and Jaehyun look over at him with matching grins, making the sophomore groan loudly.   

“Don’t think we haven’t noticed you and Mark getting all close these past few weeks,” Doyoung says, elbowing him roughly. “Not to mention that hand action back there.”     

“Aish, hyung, stop.” Donghyuck pouts, rubbing at his arm and looking over at Mark to see him watching them. Mark turns to Johnny before Donghyuck can do anything, much to his relief.      

“So, what’s going on there?” Jaehyun asks, more subtle about it.     

“Nothing, trust me,” he says, although he can feel his cheeks heat up. He stares at the soda as it fills up, not willing to give the two anymore attention. 

“Sure, sure, nothing. We’ll talk about it later,” Doyoung tells him before walking off with Jaehyun.  

“You good?” Mark asks when he returns with their drinks, looking at his red cheeks.     

“I’m fine, just starving,” he tells him, pressing the drinks to his cheeks and walking to the table some of their friends are sitting at.      

Mark gives him a funny look but doesn’t say anything, instead handing his food over. “Let’s hurry up and eat so we can check out the gift shop?”     

“We should get stuffed dolphins,” Donghyuck says, taking a bite of food.    

Mark laughs, throwing his head back and arm around Donghyuck’s chair. “What about sea turtles?” He asks, looking over at him. “It’s not yet proven, but it’s believed that female Hawksbill sea turtles only mate with one male despite the distance. Oh, there’s also otters! They’re normally monogamous and live in packs, but once mated they stick with each other for life. Same thing with the French Angelfish. Once mated, they’ll stick with each other for a lifetime defending their territories and relationship, and will travel in pairs.”     

Donghyuck laughs at him when he’s finished, leaning forwards while Mark smiles down at him. “The only thing I’m taking away from this is that you want to be stuck with me for a lifetime.”    

“Well, you said four months is too late to return a receipt.”     

“I did, didn’t I?” Donghyuck laughs softly, grin quieting down to a soft smile that turns teasing the longer they look at each other. “Although I guess it’s five months now.”

“Five months? Ugh, take me back to Canada,” he groans, leaning back in his chair. Donghyuck smacks him in the stomach, glaring at him while he starts laughing.      

They finish lunch and head over to the gift shop, looking through every aisle and getting side tracked too many times. They don’t get matching stuffed animals, instead cowering away in fear at the prices, but settle on matching keychains for their backpacks. Donghyuck buys Mark a snowglobe with the aquarium name as well as Seoul written on it, telling him it’ll be his first souvenir from South Korea. Mark hugs him when he gives it to him, taking Donghyuck off guard, and turning the box around to look at it on their trip back to the subways. Mark falls asleep against his shoulder on the way back to the dorms, Donghyuck playing with his hand and leaning against his head in contentment. Mark sees him off like he always does when they get to his room, wishing him a good night, and when Donghyuck closes the door, he grabs the closet pillow to scream into it, ignoring his roommate’s troubled questions. 

The first week of May has all of them stressing over finals. There’s library study sessions, ones Taeyong forces them to study at, and late dinner get-togethers. Donghyuck finds himself texting their group chat at four in the morning to find half of them still awake and he’ll make runs down to the convenience store to get some late night snacks with some of them, crashing at one of the upper-classmen’s apartments, too lazy to trudge back to their own rooms.      

“Hyuck, you know this,” Mark says one day during lunch.     

Donghyuck groans, feeling a strong urge to burn the school down as he rolls face down on the grass, tempted to suffocate himself here and now. “No, I don’t.”   

“You know this. What’s the equation for kinematic equations for motion along a line with constant acceleration?” He asks again, a hint of a laugh playing at his voice.     

“How am I supposed to know?” Donghyuck demands, sitting up and glaring over at him. “Who even tests on material from fucking September anyways?! I came to college to study music, not physics!”     

Mark loses it, falling against the grass in a heap of laughter. Donghyuck groans again, throwing his arms up and falling on the grass. He lets out a strangled yell, not caring for other people passing while Mark still laughs his head off.      

“You suck. You’re absolutely horrible,” Donghyuck tells him when he calms down only to send him off in another fit.      

“I’ve got to go,” Mark tells him, breathing in deeply and packing up his stuff. “But I’ll see you later.”     

Donghyuck grumbles to himself, waving him off and picking up his review guide again.     

“You’ve got this, I believe in you!”     

Donghyuck tries to ingrain the words written down in his brain by the time his test comes up. He’s absolutely done for when it’s over, but he’s hoping for at least an 80 so there’s that. He doesn’t see Mark later though, instead eating dinner with his roommate and passing out. When finals week is over, he skips out on dinner with everyone else in favor of recharging. He’s in the middle of taking off the face mask he’s applied when there’s a knock on his door.      

“What?” He asks, not phased by Mark standing on the other side.      

“How’d your tests go?”      

“Fine,” he sighs, leaving the door open to walk back to the bathroom to finish his night routine. “I don’t think I failed anything, so that’s good. What about you?”     

Mark’s silent for a few moments before he responds with, “yeah, same, I don’t think I did bad.” Donghyuck hums, dunking his face in the water.      

“Um, actually I had something I wanted to show you,” Mark says after a few minutes of silence.      

“Sure, what is it?” Donghyuck asks, wiping his face off before walking out. He picks up a hoodie on the way, settling on his bed next to Mark.     

“Well, for my production class, we’re working on a song as our final,” he says, opening his guitar case up.      

“Oh, nice. Do you need me to sing on it?”     

“Maybe, but I wanted to show you what we, I, came up with,” he tells him, grabbing the notebook from the case and giving it to him.     

Donghyuck hesitantly takes it, staring down at the cover before looking up at Mark. “Are you sure? You never let anyone see this thing.”      

Mark laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down at the book. “I’m sure, trust me. Taeyong-hyung worked on it with me after I came up with the idea, but I did copy it down here from the paper we used.” Mark takes the book, opening it up and handing it back. Donghyuck watches his Adam’s apple bob, taking in his nervousness. “Um, the first couple of pages are my original ideas,” he says and Donghyuck looks down to see the mess that is the paper. “And the last two are the actual song.”     

They fall into silence as Donghyuck takes in all of the words, flipping through the pages and reading words that sound familiar to his ears.      

“We’re basically attached at the hip.”      

“I like being close to you.”      

Donghyuck looks down at the other page, heart clenching at the words there.     

“You’ve got a pretty smile.”      

“It’s my charm.”      

He turns the page with a shaky hand.     

“You decide, Hyuckie.”     

Donghyuck takes in a deep breath, fingers tracing half thought lyrics. Baby, is it me or are you doing something to me? Your smile, shining bright, takes me away. You’re my focus, my control, the one thing I see clearly. Only when you hold my hand, it feels like I have started.                

“Mark,” he breathes, breath coming short the longer he reads the notes. He turns to the pages of the actual song, shifting on the bed and bringing the notebook up to get a better look as he reads them.     

“What do you think?” Mark asks, voice unsure the longer Donghyuck stays silent.  

Donghyuck wipes quickly at his watery eyes, sniffing and looking up with a smile. “I think it’s beautiful.”     

Mark’s eyes widen. “Really?”     

“God, yes, of course. Mark,” he starts, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’ve got talent, you’re so talented it’s insane. And I feel honored you showed this to me. I know how important this notebook is to you.”

Mark stares at him for a bit before blushing and looking away. “Do you want to try playing it?”    

“Yes, of course.”     

Mark grabs his guitar, getting situated and playing the song for him. Donghyuck scoots close so their knees are touching, testing out the chorus on the second go around. When Mark gets to the second rap, he lets out a high pitched laugh and covers his face, Donghyuck laughing after him.     

“I’m guessing those were Taeyong-hyung’s lyrics?”      

“How’d you know?” Mark asks, looking down at the notebook.     

Donghyuck snorts, placing it in between them. “I’ll rap his part for you.”     

Mark rolls his eyes, telling him to hush and goes back to playing. They spend the next hour running through the song, testing it out and different variations. Donghyuck’s voice is soft and a little weak from not warming up, but Mark tells him it’s fine. When the clock hits eleven, they get under his covers and talk for a bit. Donghyuck scoots closer to him so he’s pressed up against Mark, hand slipping under his lower back and Mark accommodates him, stretching out an arm for him.     

“Thank you, Hyuck,” he whispers when they’re on the verge of sleep.     

“It’s not an issue, Canada,” he says back, tucking into him and letting sleep take over. 

The weekend before his showcase weekend finds him out with his friends for dinner, all on Johnny, Yuta, and Taeyong to wish the performers good luck before their show. It’s a nice dinner, a way for the singers to relax before they all hunker down in the practice rooms the following week. It’s a nice dinner Donghyuck forces himself to enjoy because Monday already has him stressing and almost crying. Doyoung keeps him on track, along with Jaehyun and Jungwoo, but it’s not enough for him to stop Donghyuck’s stress eating, or lack thereof, or the sleepless nights that hit him on Tuesday.      

Wednesday has Mark walking into the practice room around ten to get him.      

“The practice rooms have been closed for an hour, Hyuck,” he says.     

“Another ten minutes.”    

“Hyuck.”    

“I need to get this bridge right. If I can’t get my voice up there and hold it, I’m done for.”    

“You have three more days.”    

Donghyuck doesn’t say anything, instead keeping his eyes on the music sheet in front of him, staring at them resolutely even though he knows the sheet inside and out. As if he hasn’t studied it the same way he studied for his entrance exam, determined to get into this school, or Mark’s hand, wanting to be able to trace every line even in the dark. It’s easier to look at that than Mark.     

“Okay,” he concedes. “Fifteen more minutes.”   

Donghyuck nods, taking in a deep breath and running from the second chorus again. Mark sits on the couch, silent and watching himself beat himself over this. When his timer goes off, it startles Donghyuck and he turns around to find Mark standing up.     

“Come on, let’s get some sleep,” he says, holding his hand out.     

Donghyuck takes it, allowing Mark to lead him to the dorms. They skip out on dinner and Donghyuck almost falls asleep in the elevator. When they get to his room, Mark helps him change into pajamas and get ready for bed, getting his bag together while he’s in the bathroom. He takes the toothbrush from him when Donghyuck almost falls asleep at the sink, leading him to his bed and tucking him in.      

“Almost done,” he whispers, not fully grasping his words.    

“Almost done,” Mark agrees, squeezing his side and running a hand through his hair. “You’ve got this, Hyuckie. You’re doing so great, now get some sleep.”     

Donghyuck hums, tempted to ask him to stay the night, but Mark shuts off the lamp and Donghyuck plunges into sleep. The rest of the week is similar with Mark fetching him from the practice room after he sneaks back in when Doyoung leaves, tucking him into bed or forcing food down his throat. Donghyuck tends to fall asleep for an hour or so before he wakes up again and rereads the email Baekhyun sent him or watches another vocal lesson into the early hours of the morning. Every night when Mark brings him back the question is on the tip of, but it’s only on Friday night that Donghyuck is able to get it out.   

“Could you stay the night, hyung?” He asks, looking up at Mark to see his eyes widen. “I’m not sleeping well and I want to be rested for tomorrow.”     

Mark softens out, nodding and grabbing some clothes from Donghyuck’s dresser. He slips into the bed next to him, pulling Donghyuck closer to him while he leans against the wall and props his head up on a hand. Donghyuck turns to him, hand tangling in the front of his shirt while their legs intertwine.      

“You’re coming tomorrow, right?”     

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”    

Donghyuck hums lightly, closing his eyes and letting the exhaustion take over him. “Do you think I’ll do good?”    

“Of course I do. You’re going to be the best one there, now no more questions. Get some sleep,” he says softly, fingers coming up to trace over Donghyuck’s face. They trace over his brows before running over his eyelids and down the slope of his nose, his lips, and repeating. It’s soothing, something he needs majorly.    

“Where did you learn that from?”    

“I thought I said no more questions.”    

“Hyung.”    

“My mom,” Mark tells him. “When I was little and I couldn’t sleep, she’d lay in my bed and do this until I did.”     

“I like it.”    

“So do I.”   

“Do you miss her? Do you miss Canada?” Donghyck asks.    

“Yeah, sometimes I do.”  

“Have you found a new home here?”   

The tracing stops and Donghyuck opens his eyes to find Mark looking down at him with tender eyes. It’s enough to have made Donghyuck squirm, but instead he stares back, feeling too much and not enough this late at night.  

“Yeah, I have,” he finally says, going back to tracing Donghyuck’s face.     

Donghyuck hums, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around Mark’s chest, his heartbeat faint in his ears. “So have I, Mark.”

The next day is spent at the venue getting ready and going over things. Mark treated him out to breakfast as final good luck before sending him off. The whole day was a swirl of nerves, yelling, and stressing, but it’s something Donghyuck’s used to by now, something he finds comfort in. The only thing freaking him out isn’t Doyoung’s hovering or Seulgi giving out orders left and right, but the fact that Baekhyun is sitting out in the crowd ready to watch him. His whole career is riding on this one performance and he can’t mess it up.     

Now, three minutes before his performance, Donghyuck is rubbing his hands together and trying to recall breathing techniques his teacher has taught.     

“Are you ready?” Doyoung asks, grabbing onto his shoulders.    

Freshman and sophomores go first since they’re the youngest, so he’s in the middle of the showcase. Which isn’t an issue since he’s not trying to impress anyone but Baekhyun, but it’s definitely not a good opportunity to try to bring the house down.     

“I’m shitting bricks, hyung.”    

Doyoung snorts, pulling him into a hug and squeezing him tightly. “You’ve got this, you're going to do amazing, trust me.”     

“I hope you’re right,” he says, squeezing him back just as tightly.    

“Of course I am,” Doyoung says, pulling back and giving him a warm smile. “Now, go kill it.”   

“Good luck, Hyuckie!” Jungwoo shouts, looking up from where he’s doing a girl’s makeup and giving him a big thumb’s up.    

Donghyuck smiles, returning it and thanking Jaehyun when he gives his encouragement. He steps onto the stage after the announcement, adjusting the mic before taking a moment to close his eyes and breath. When the music comes on, he looks out into the crowd, hoping he’s got the attention of two specific people and starts singing.      

He doesn’t remember much of his performance, the three minutes going by too fast and not fast enough for him to truly remember everything, but he does remember the cheers when he got to the bridge (probably Johnny and Yuta) and the loud clapping when he finished. 

“How’d I do?” He asks, when he finally gets backstage.  

Doyoung meets him halfway down the steps, helping him walk over to the couch. “I, Hyuck, seriously I don’t have words.”

“It was that bad?” He asks, a crushing pain starting to weigh down on him.  

“It was phenomenal,” Jaehyun interjects, sitting on the arm of the couch and ruffling his hair. “You absolutely killed it, Hyuck. I’m not sure how we’re supposed to follow that.”    

Donghyuck laughs breathlessly, leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes.    

“Mr. Lee?”   

Donghyuck springs up, bowing down deeply. “Mr. Byun, how was your evening?”  

“None of that, please,” Baekhyun says, putting a hand on his shoulder. Donghyuck stands up to see Baekhyun’s amused smile. “Let’s speak casually, okay?”     

Donghyuck hums, running his hands over his pants.  

“I just wanted to stop by to let you know your performance blew me and my friends away,” Baekhyun tells him. “I haven’t seen something like that in ages. You’ve got serious talent, Donghyuck, and I would love to bring you into the company to work with us, or to have me train you as we get your career started.”   

“Oh my God,” Donghyuck breathes, hands coming up to his mouth. “You’re not joking.”    

Baekhyun laughs, throwing his head back before shaking it. “I’m not, I promise. I will talk to my boss first thing on Monday and see what I can do.”     

“Thank you, sunbae, thank you so much,” Donghyuck rushes, looking up and not believing the words he’s hearing. “You seriously don’t know how much this means to me.”   

“It’s not an issue, your voice deserves to be heard. How about when this finishes, you and your friends join us for dinner, on me,” he says, smiling when Donghyuck agrees readily. “Great, I’ll see you after the showcase.”

Donghyuck nods and Baekhyun leaves after wishing his friends good luck. Donghyuck stares at the spot the singer was at a moment ago before turning to his friends and cheering, keeping it down when the stage manager yells at them. They engulf him in hugs, singing their praises and Donghyuck feels all the stress drain from him, this past week’s work making him proud beyond belief.   

When the showcase comes to an end, they leave backstage after to find their friends with Baekhyun and his friends outside of the venue.   

“Hyuck!” Mark calls, smiling at him when they get close. “I would’ve come after you performed, but they weren’t letting anyone in. You did so great though, I’m so proud of you.” 

Donghyuck stops a few steps away from him, taking in Mark’s dressed up appearance. A large bouquet of sunflowers sit in one hand while a teddy bear sits in the other, a sweet smile resting on Mark’s face. His eyes start watering up and his heart fills up too much for him to catch up with. He grabs the items before wrapping his arms around Mark’s neck and tucking his face into it, trying to hold back his tears. 

Mark laughs softly, fingers coming up to comb through his crunchy hair and the other resting on the small of his back. “Don’t cry, Hyuckie, you’ll mess up your makeup.” 

Donghyuck lets out something bordering a sob, tightening his hold around Mark and pressing up closer to him. Mark grabs the back of his thighs, hoisting him up and holding him while Donghyuck wraps his legs around his waist.    

“You did so great, Hyuck, I’m so proud,” Mark tells him, rubbing his back while Donghyuck starts crying harder. They stand there for a bit until Donghyuck calms down a little, Mark whispering soothing things in his ear and rubbing his back.   

“I can feel my pants ripping,” he says. Mark starts laughing, stumbling backwards a bit and Donghyuck follows with a wet laugh of his own. He gets down, wiping at his eyes with his wrist.     

“You’re smearing it, Hyuck,” Mark says, moving to wipe under his eyes.    

“He said yes.”   

“I knew he would.”     

Donghyuck stares at the Canadian and his soft expression filled with so much passion and endearment and something else Donghyuck doesn’t want to place right now, but feels himself. He wraps his arms around Mark’s neck again and hugs him, trying to portray his own feeling through it and breathing in deeply, Mark’s cologne too familiar with him for it to be a coincidence. 

Later that night they are in Donghyuck’s room alone as his roommate spends the night somewhere else. They’re eating the take out they ordered from the restaurant they were at with the others, late enough for them to be craving another meal. Donghyuck looks up from his food to look over at Mark who’s loading his chopsticks up.     

“Mark,” he starts, setting his food down. Mark hums, looking up at him and he removes the teddy bear from his lap. “That song, did you have a muse for it?”

 Mark freezes, cheeks darkening significantly. He swallows his food, clearing his throat and looking down at the bed. “Yeah, I did.”     

Donghyuck hums, looking away. “Who was it?”     

“You should know this. Come on, Hyuck, don’t make me say it.”  

“I want you too,” he confesses, looking over at him. Mark takes an audible breath, looking away from him.

“It was you,” he says after a minute. “I wrote it after you.”

“Did you mean it?” Donghyuck asks, moving their food to the floor.      

“Of course I did,” he says, watching him curiously.     

“Good, because I like you too.” Donghyuck climbs into Mark’s lap, the other accommodating him readily and resting his hands on his hips. “I miss my family too and even though I found one here with our friends, I definitely wasn’t expecting to find what you’ve become, Canada.”     

“What’s that?” Mark asks, looking up at him.     

“A home. An addition to the one that’s been built,” Donghyuck tells him, smiling and cupping his face. “I’m glad you came here, Mark.”  

“Me too.”     

Donghyuck takes a moment before leaning in and capturing Mark’s lips in a soft kiss. He presses against him eagerly, moving his lips before pulling away to take a breath before going back in. Mark runs a hand up his back, tangling in his hair while his other hand squeezes his waist and they tumble back on the bed in a soft fit of laughter. Donghyuck pulls away to smile down at Mark, feeling his heart burst at the sight of the Canadian.      

Canada has definitely become a second home, and staring down at Mark and his soft eyes and even softer smile, it’s something Donghyuck feels beyond lucky for.