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Donghyuck was proud of many things in his life. Like his good looks and witty personality.
But by far, he was most proud of his baking.
And for once he was willing to lay down his pride and admit that he wasn't so good at it at first.
If there was one defining trait of Donghyuck's, it would be his stubbornness.
It was his stubbornness that even made him attempt to bake when he was seven.
Back then, he had been angry when his mother refused to buy him a cake for his birthday, saying that it would be better to buy cupcakes since they were less expensive and that they wouldn't even be able to finish a cake. Something that he disagreed on for account of Jeno's endless pit that he called a stomach.
So that faithful day, he attempted to bake for the first time. And well... It didn't go so well.
It ended with him getting a harsh scolding from his mother, and a one month banishment from the kitchen. Though he did get that cake he wanted for his birthday.
Anyways, his stubbornness made him refuse to admit that he sucked at baking, and once his banishment was over, he tried again, and again, and again.
At some point he began to improve. Going from downright disgusting to uneatable, to decent, to good, and finally, to great.
The best thing was that his parents supported his passion, seeing that he was getting nowhere with his studies.
Donghyuck was determined to let the world know how awesome his baking was, and thus he began to compete in competitions. And when he was eighteen, he placed third in a nation-wide contest, making sure that everybody knew his name.
Now he was twenty-one, and with a cafe to call his own.
Business was booming at Full Sun, and he was proud of himself for it. Well, him and his friends of course.
He couldn't have done it without Kun's investment into the bakery, and Renjun helping to set up the business end of things.
But he still claimed most credit because it was his creations that drew customers.
The one pastry that always sold out were his cupcakes.Something that his friends always made sure to tease him for considering how it all started because he didn't want cupcakes.
Donghyuck supposed that it was funny how cupcakes were the one thing that changed his life.
But he didn't understand just how much it had done for him, until a clumsy, beaten-down boy tumbled into his life.
___
Donghyuck was just about to close up for the night, when the bell above the front door rang.
Sighing, he turned to tell the customer that it was already closing time, but was beaten to it.
"I'm sorry. I know your about to close, but it's raining and I don't have an umbrella." The customer explained breathlessly, looking completely soaked and shivering.
Donghyuck looked at the window to check. The sky had looked dark the entire day, but it wasn't until a few minutes ago that it started to pour down heavily.
He glanced over at the male who had a black face mask on, covering everything but his eyes that looked wide and pleading at him.
God, why must he have puppy-dog eyes? Even Donghyuck couldn't steel himself against them.
"Fine." He gave in reluctantly. "Order a drink while your at it. Make it hot chocolate since you look like your shivering to death."
The customer clearly wasn't dressed for the rain in only a sleeveless top and sweatpants and he seemed to realise that by the way he glanced down at his attire.
"O-Okay." He got up to the counter. "One hot chocolate please."
"Coming right up." Donghyuck replied.
He usually wasn't in charge of the drinks. In fact that was Kun's job, but he knew how to make a good hot chocolate.
When he was done, he turned around to see that the customer had sat down by the window, staring out onto the streets of Seoul.
That was something melancholy about his manner, which to be honest was... kind of lame in his opinion.
Donghyuck could tell that the guy was young, so he didn't understand why he would seem so sad for.
So he interrupted the scene by placing the drink in front of him, startling him a little.
Donghyuck managed to get a good look at the customer's face, noting that he was kinda cute.
"Thanks." The boy muttered, taking a sip of the hot chocolate and sighing in relief afterwards.
"That would be 2.80. You forgot to pay earlier." Donghyuck said, flustering the male.
"Oh did I? I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to." He apologised, even going a little overboard.
"It's fine." Donghyuck replied in an attempt to get him to stop, feeling a little like he was bullying him.
After the customer had paid, he moved over to the counter to finish his drink in silence while Donghyuck finished up the last of the dishes.
"Ah... I'm done." The customer stated awkwardly after a few minutes, pushing his cup away. "Thanks for letting me in by the way."
"No problem. I'm not going to turn down a customer after all." Donghyuck joked in reply.
The customer giggled a little in response. "Is that so? Still, thanks a lot. I'll be going now."
Donghyuck glanced over to the door, noting that there was still a bit of rain.
"Just wait a minute. I'll be right back." He said, leaving the male in slight confusion. Donghyuck headed to the back, on the hunt for an umbrella.
In the end, he broke into Winwin's locker to get his umbrella. Maybe he should warn the elder against setting his password as his birthday, but that was a matter for another day.
"Here." Donghyuck handed the yellow umbrella off to the boy, making him stare at it with wide eyes.
"Is this for me?"
Donghyuck rolled his eyes. " Who else would it be for? But this isn't a gift, I do expect it back. So you better come back and return it." He warned, sending him a dark look as a second warning.
"I will!" The boy replied, nodding his head frantically.
Donghyuck smiled a little, finding him cute. Just a little bit.
"What's your name? Just to be sure that you actually come to return it." He added.
The customer hesitated a little, before muttering softly, "It's Mark. Mark Lee. My Korean name is Minhyung, but I prefer Mark."
Mark? "So your a foreigner? That's cool." Donghyuck commented, a little confused when there was no reply for a moment.
"Y-Yeah." Mark replied, snapping out of it. "I'm from Canada. Not that you needed to know but- yeah, I'm Canadian so- I think I'm going to go now." Mark went red under his face mask, quickly fleeing the store.
Donghyuck winched when the boy proceeded to trip on thin air on the pavement before finally disappearing out of sight.
He shook his head, a small smile on his face.
A part of him hoped to see Mark again.
___
The second time he met Mark, it was in a situation much like the first.
He came in only a day later, just an hour before closing time.
He was dressed in much the same way as before, except he was wearing a jacket, and a skull face mask.
Really, why was he wearing a face mask for the second time? Was he ill or something?
"Hey Mark." Donghyuck greeted, catching the attention of Renjun, who was behind the register.
"Hey." The boy greeted back, and by his side was the yellow umbrella he lent him. Thank god, Winwin was really starting to bug him about it.
"Here." He handed it over the counter.
"You returned it earlier than I thought you would. Do you want anything to eat or drink?" He offered.
"No, no." Mark refused, using his hands to gesture his refusal. "I'm sort of busy right now, I'll be going then."
Oh. Donghyuck couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, watching as he walked out the door.
"Who was that?" Renjun asked curiously once Mark was gone. "He seems familiar..."
Donghyuck raised a brow, "Familiar? That was only the second time he came into the store."
"Really? What was his name again?"
"Mark." He replied easily, not noticing the way Renjun's eyes widened.
"Mark? As in Mark Lee?" He questioned, making the younger turn to him in confusion.
"Yes? How do you even know his full name?" At that, Renjun choked out a laugh that only grew the more he looked at Donghyuck who was simply confused.
"Hyuck, are you being serious right now? Do you really not know who he is? Wow. Oh my god I have to tell Jeno about this." Renjun gushed, laughing like a mad man.
Jeno? Why would he have to tell his cousin about this? What does this have to do with him?
Donghyuck felt deeply confused. "What is it?" He asked again.
Renjun refused to answer even after all his bugging, only saying that he would know soon enough.
True to his word, Donghyuck ended up finding out about it only a few hours later, upon receiving a phone call from Jeno.
"Are you serious Hyuck?" Before he could even greet him, Jeno was already going off on a rant. "I mean- How can you not know who Mark is? I know you don't listen to our music, but don't you even know who my members are? Like, Mark is the golden boy of the idol industry right now. I can't believe you-"
"Wait what?" The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
Jeno slowed down, giving Donghyuck time to process his words. "Are you saying... that Mark is in your group?" He asked, mind reeling a little from the conclusion.
"Yes."
The short answer from his cousin shocked him more than expected. Mark Lee, an idol? That same awkward Mark Lee that couldn't even talk properly to him? The pieces didn't really fit properly in his head.
"Oh... that's nice, I suppose." Donghyuck muttered awkwardly.
"I can't believe that you didn't know that Mark is part of my group. Do you live under a rock?" Jeno questioned.
"Okay, don't you think you took it a little too far with that? You know I'm busy with the store right now." The younger retorted.
"Hyuck, that's what you always say. How long has it been since we've met up? If I remember correctly, we last met up three months ago."
"It's actually been two months and twenty-four days. It isn't that bad Jeno."
"Really now?" The disbelief in his cousin's tone was clear to hear. "Either ways, let's meet up soon. It's been too long since I've seen your ugly face and we're about to go on tour in a month so I won't be seeing you for a while."
"Ugly? I'll have you know that I have the most beautiful face that you'll ever have the pleasure of seeing!" He argued back, a little offended, but he still had to agree with the majority of what Jeno was saying.
"Fine. For some reason I actually do want to meet your flat ass before you leave." Donghyuck admitted.
"Hey!"
The two of them bickered for a while longer before Jeno suddenly cut himself off into an awkward silence.
"I have to go to dance practice now. Talk to you later."
"Okay, bye-" He didn't even get a proper goodbye out before he heard the bleeping that indicted that Jeno had hung up.
Donghyuck busied himself with manning the counter afterwards, trying to get away from the flurry of thoughts in his head.
Donghyuck didn't really know why, but finding out that Mark was actually an idol bothered him. How was he supposed to treat him from now on? He was a celebrity. He couldn't treat him like any other customer.
But yet... being a celebrity shouldn't mean that much. He was still a human being. And besides, they actually had a connection in the form of Jeno. He couldn't just act stand-offish to him.
Mark was a nice guy from what he has seen of him. And being a celebrity didn't change that at all.
Right?
Right.
There was no need for Donghyuck to feel awkward.
Nothing was going to change.
___
The next few times Mark came in, he seemed extremely busy, so he wasn't able to greet Donghyuck for too long.
It was always a bit disappointing when Mark had to leave shortly after coming in, their conversations barely a few words long.
He didn't let it get him down though, so when he finally saw Mark after a two week absence on a late weekday night, Donghyuck was ready and waiting for him.
Somehow he had a feeling that today would be his lucky day, so he chose to keep the store open a bit longer just to see what would happen.
It paid off, but something wasn't quite right.
The boy seemed... down. He was wearing his signature black face mask, but the look in his eyes reminded him of a kicked puppy.
Donghyuck looked at him worriedly as Mark approached the counter, lost deep in thought.
"You okay?" He asked gently, startling the boy who looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Oh, Donghyuck..." He muttered breathlessly, a little surprised as he pulled his mask down.
A small smile curled on his face before he blurted out, "Why didn't you tell me you knew me before?"
"Excuse me?" Mark replied in confusion, pulling his mask down.
"You know, Jeno. Your band mate, my cousin."
Mark's face went from confusion to realisation in a instant. "Ah, I actually just found out. Jeno talks a lot about you, but I never really bothered paying attention before so... " He trailed off awkwardly.
Donghyuck leaned over the counter, "What does Jeno say about me then?"
He was actually quite curious about this, wanting to know if his cousin had been badmouthing him to his members.
Mark looked away from him. Suspicious.
"Well? What does he say?" Donghyuck repeated.
"Nothing. Just the usual stuff." Mark muttered hesitantly.
Donghyuck frowned. "What usual stuff? Does he say I'm annoying? Or that I talk too much? Or does he claim I'm ugly? Tell me everything!"
"No, no, of course not!" Mark exclaimed, panicking at the flurry of words exploding from the younger.
Donghyuck couldn't stop the laughter exploding out of him. "God, look at your face. I'm just kidding Mark."
At that, the elder looked relieved, and Donghyuck noticed how bad Mark seemed.
His face was gaunt. The eyebags he had were stark against his skin that was worryingly pale. Plus he looked like he had lost weight.
"Okay then, well, what do you want? You must have came here to buy something right?" Donghyuck asked eagerly, not wanting to think too much about it.
There was a pause a second too long before Mark nodded his head. "Yeah, what do you recommend?"
Donghyuck took a moment to examine the selection of pastries on the shelf. "What I recommend... Not to brag, but everything tastes pretty great, but people seem to like my cupcakes more. Since it's autumn, how about going for our pumpkin spice cupcake?"
Mark ordered as told, leaning against the counter as he waited. Once the cupcake was actually in front of him though, the idol merely stared at it for a while, not moving.
"Aren't you going to try it?" Donghyuck asked, breaking the tense silence that had gathered over them.
"Huh? O-Oh yeah, sure." Mark sounded nervous as he talked, slowly reaching for the cupcake.
He took a small-sized bite, letting out a hum at the taste. "It's good. Tastes like autumn." He commented, putting the cupcake back down.
Donghyuck was a little worried seeing as Mark had only taken one small bite before seemingly deciding that he wasn't going to eat anymore, but before he could ask, Mark spoke for him.
"Listen, I have to go now. Can you put the cupcake in a takeaway box for me?"
Donghyuck relaxed at that. Right, Mark didn't have to eat it right now in front of him, he could eat it at his own pace.
"Wait a moment." He muttered quickly packed it away in a small container.
Mark took the container with a smile before his expression quickly changed as he dug around for something in his pocket.
"Is it okay if you give me your number?" Mark asked shyly, his phone in his hand.
What? "S-Sure." Donghyuck answered after a beat of pause.
He took the phone, inputting his number. For some reason, he chose to put a heart next to his name, something that he regretted immediately afterwards.
Mark then gave him a call. "Now you also have mine." The elder declared happily.
"Anyways, I guess I should go now." With that Mark left, but not before one last display of his clumsiness as he tripped on thin air, flushing a deep red afterwards.
Donghyuck shook his head, smiling contently before he started to close up the shop.
Usually there would be at least one other person with him, but since he kept the store opened longer that meant that he was by himself which meant he spent a little more time closing up.
By the time he was done, it was getting really late and honestly it made Donghyuck slightly nervous. While he was in a safer part of town, it didn't mean things didn't get shady at night.
He hurried down the sidewalk, trying to get home quickly. In his head, he was listing out the ingredients he would need for the latest recipe he was working on when he was suddenly hit by a delicious scent.
It smelled like... pumpkin.
Donghyuck followed his nose to a nearby dustbin, heart sinking once he saw the container with his logo on top of the bin.
There were so many questions in his head right now that he wanted to ask Mark, like why would he throw away a perfectly good cupcake?
Donghyuck worked hard to bake that! He poured his heart and soul into them. They were like his babies and Mark threw it away just like that?
He needed an explanation.
Quickly he grabbed his phone of his pocket, sending out a text to Mark.
Of course he wasn't going to outright ask whether he had thrown away the cupcake, he at least wanted to give the elder a chance to confess.
Did you enjoy the cupcake?
There, it was done and all he needed was a reply.
Donghyuck huffed in frustration, silently hoping that it wasn't what he thought.
___
Yeah, they were delicious.
Somehow those four words were all Donghyuck could think of for days afterwards.
Delicious? Mark barely took one bite before throwing it away.
Liar. The more he thought of it, the angrier Donghyuck became.
The worse part about it was that Mark messaged him at least one time per day, without fail.
Whenever he saw the cute messages the elder sent in their group chat, Donghyuck could feel his anger subside until he reminded himself of it.
So not only was he failing to stay angry, now he was also getting frustrated.
It was only a week later that Donghyuck got to see Mark again.
It was at the meet up that he had made with Jeno at the cafe to catch up that Mark unexpectedly made his appearance after his cousin.
"Hey Hyuck, hope you don't mind that Mark's here. I had to get him away from management. Is that okay?" Jeno asked, removing his mask.
Numbly Donghyuck nodded his head, staring at Mark's face.
For the first time, the elder didn't have a mask on, only a hoodie that had covered his face, but now under the bright lights he could see what Mark was hiding.
Donghyuck knew Mark was cute, there was no denying it, especially since his whole career depended on him being eye candy, but wow did he look way better with make-up on.
"Is that eyeliner?" Donghyuck blurted out thoughtlessly, making Mark look at him with an expression like a scared deer.
"Y-Yeah. Why, does it not look good?" He asked hesitantly.
Donghyuck frantically shook his head, "Of course not. You look.. Good."
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jeno's face-splitting grin. Not good.
In an attempt to change the subject, Donghyuck pointed to the nearby table, where he had put some pastries for them to share.
"You guys can sit down first, I have some things I have to finish."
Donghyuck hurriedly made his way into the backroom, leaning against the door once he closed it.
He had already completed everything he needed to do, but had lied so that he could take a moment to collect himself.
Lee Donghyuck, why are you acting like this?! He thought to himself, feeling his heart beat rapidly in his chest.
So what if Mark Lee was stupidly cute? That didn't mean a thing. Especially since he was still angry!
"Snap out of it!" To make his point, Donghyuck even slapped himself.
Once he felt his heart return to a normal pace, he returned to the counter to do a little spying.
Donghyuck was pretty sure that he was supposed to be on a diet, but Jeno was heartily digging into the desserts. On the other end, Mark was picking at his dessert.
Did he also have a diet? Is that why he threw out the cupcake?
"You two enjoying the desserts?" Donghyuck asked, walking as casually towards them as possible.
"Yeah, they're delicious as always." Jeno complimented.
Donghyuck smiled, sitting in the last chair. It didn't pass his notice that Mark never answered.
"That's good. But you shouldn't eat as much, your on a diet aren't you?"
Was it his imagination, or did Mark tense at his words?
Your probably just thinking too much Donghyuck.
Jeno's smile faded a bit before he answered, "It's fine. Having one cheat day isn't a big deal. Plus we'll work it off later. Right Mark hyung?"
"Right."
Donghyuck felt himself starting to frown at the short answer.
"Well, you guys are under a lot of stress. Eat up and gain back some energy."
"It really has been stressful with the upcoming tour and everything." Jeno muttered. "I feel like I'm going to lose my mind the next time management has a meeting with us."
"Meeting? What's that about?" Donghyuck asked. Immediately Jeno's demeanor changed, going from open to closed-off.
"Nothing. Just some stuff for the future comebacks and what not." Jeno was unwilling to elaborate further.
Donghyuck glanced over at Mark, but he had his head down as he silently ate his slice of cake.
Gosh, the atmosphere was so down. Donghyuck had to do something to cheer the two of them up.
"Hey, wanna come over to my apartment? We can play Mario Kart." He offered.
"Sure. Tomorrow is actually our rest day, so I can stay over for the night. Mark?"
The eldest looked up at them, not saying a word with confusion in his eyes.
"Come on, it'll be fun! Like a sleepover!" Donghyuck whined.
Mark blushed a little, looking back down at his plate. "I guess it'll be okay."
"Great! I can pack up and we can go!"
It was barely thirty minutes later that Donghyuck unlocked the door to his apartment, ushering the two of them in.
"Sorry if it's dirty. I don't really have guests over much." Donghyuck apologised.
"Is Injun home?" Jeno asked, enquiring after the Chinese.
"He didn't tell you? He went back to China to stay with his parents for a few weeks. He mentioned something about his grandma being sick." Donghyuck answered.
It was weird that Renjun wouldn't have told Jeno about his trip. Ever since he had introduced the pair a year ago, they got along really well and were close.
Donghyuck even thought that Renjun knew Jeno better than he did, and that was saying something.
"I'll set up the game console. Just sit down or something." He said, going over to the cupboard where he kept all their games.
While Mark sat down on the couch, Jeno walked around the apartment, looking closely at the photos they had.
"Hey Hyuck, you still have this photo?" Jeno asked, a little surprised.
"What photo?" Donghyuck asked, putting the console in front of the TV.
"The one our parents took of our fifth birthday party. I remember how upset you were at having to share a cake with me." Jeno snickered, bringing the photo over for Mark to see.
"You can't blame me for being upset. I really thought that when they said we would be having a joined birthday party that we would each get a cake." Donghyuck retorted with his back to them as he set up the console.
"Cute right?" Jeno questioned Mark quietly not to let his cousin overhear.
The eldest only frowned, red rising in his cheeks.
"Hey, do you think you have any other photos we can look at? Ever since we moved we lost a lot of our albums."
"Sure, it's in the box under my desk in my room. Get it yourselves though, I'm busy with this."
Jeno grinned, grabbing Mark's hand to go to Donghyuck's room.
"Ah, there is it!" Jeno zeroed in on the box, dragging it out from the desk while Mark took a look at the room.
The walls were covered with photos of Donghyuck and his family, and against the wall opposite his bed was a book shelf filled to the brim.
Then something on the bedside table caught his attention. Was that...?
Mark smiled as he held the album up, his own face staring back at him.
"Jeno, did you give Donghyuck a copy of our album?" He asked curiously.
"No, he doesn't really care for kpop. Not even for me."
Mark's smile only grew wider before he put the album back down.
Donghyuck didn't know any of this as he finished setting up the console.
"Wow, this is like going back in time." Jeno muttered, flipping through the photo album with Mark.
There were many photos from Donghyuck's childhood, showing off what a cute child he had been. Not that he was any less cute now in Mark's opinion.
"Yah, I worked so hard to set up the console. Are you two really just going to look at photos?" Donghyuck questioned, a little annoyed at the pair who sat on the couch.
"Okay, okay, let's play." Jeno smiled, putting the album down.
Despite the fact that Donghyuck was the one who suggested playing Mario Kart, he wasn't really all that good at playing it.
He sighed, having lost for the hundredth time. "That's it. Mark, we should team up against Jeno." He suggested.
"Sure."
"Hey, don't gang up on me!" Jeno exclaimed unhappily.
"Well that's what happens when you don't let others win!" He shot back.
"It's not that serious! Don't do this to me!"
The three of them were having so much fun that they didn't realise just how late it got until Donghyuck glanced up at the clock.
"It's already one in the morning! We should stop and go to sleep."
Jeno helped him put back the console while he and Mark grabbed blankets and pillows, spreading them on the living room floor.
"You two can sleep here. There's towels in the bathroom if you wanna take a shower. I'll grab you guys clothes to change into as well."
The three of them were around the same size so it shouldn't be a problem.
"Where's Mark?" Donghyuck asked, coming back from his bedroom with suitable clothes.
"In the shower."
Just as Jeno replied, the kitchen bathroom door opened as Mark peeked his head out, calling out Donghyuck's name.
"Thanks." Mark smiled which made Donghyuck even more bashful to look at the elder as he handed him the clothes.
After Mark was done, it was Jeno's turn to take a shower, leaving Donghyuck alone with the elder.
"Hey, is it okay if I borrow your hair dryer?" Mark asked.
"S-Sure. Follow me."
Donghyuck retrieved his hair dryer from his dresser, plugging it in his desk socket.
He watched as Mark attempted to dry his hair, not really doing that good of a job at it.
"Let me do it." Donghyuck took over, willingly being handed the dryer as he got to work.
"I'm not really good with drying my hair."
"I can tell. Do you usually just let your hair dry naturally?"
"Yeah, but sometimes Jaemin helps me dry it."
Donghyuck merely nodded, focusing on the task at hand.
"Can I ask you something?"
Mark sounded hesitant, which surprised him for a moment.
"What is it?"
"Why... did you buy my album? Jeno said you didn't like kpop."
Donghyuck froze, only reacting when Mark let out a hiss of pain from the heat of the dryer.
"Sorry, sorry! That- Uh- Well- I just... happened to see it! Yeah, I was walking past a store and saw it in the window."
That was only a part of the truth. While Donghyuck had seen the album in the window, it had been the group version with all seven of them.
"I didn't know my solo cover was being displayed." Mark muttered softly.
Crap. Donghyuck flushed, embarrassed at being found out.
Okay, the truth was that for some reason, he went inside the store and had asked whether there was other versions, and ended up buying a solo Mark cover album.
He still didn't understand why he did it. He wasted fifteen dollars on an album that he only listened to once. But Mark didn't need to know that.
"I have to support the group after all. Jeno's my cousin, and your... my friend."
"Friend?"
"Yeah, what else would we be?"
The conversation was starting to go into a direction far too awkward for Donghyuck, so he quickly finished up his task and put away the hair dryer.
Why the heck was his heart pounding like this? Was he sick or something?
"I'm gonna take a shower. Good night Mark." Luckily Jeno was already out, but he looked confused as Donghyuck shot past him into the bathroom.
"Hyuck?" Mark's voice was heard through the door.
He took in a deep breath, trying to steady himself before replying, "Yeah?"
"You forgot to take your clothes with you..."
Donghyuck shut his eyes closed in embarrassment. Why was this happening to him?
Quickly he opened the door, grabbing his clothes from Mark with a quick thanks before shutting it again.
To clear his mind, Donghyuck decided to take a long shower, standing under the hot water to try to clear his mind.
You can't be like this Lee Donghyuck! Your better than this! Screw Mark and his cuteness, you shouldn't like him so much!
"So you do like Mark hyung?"
Donghyuck let out a yap of shock, opening the curtain shower to see Jeno sitting on the toilet seat with a huge grin on his face.
"You didn't lock the door." His cousin replied seeing the glare he was receiving.
Donghyuck sighed, deciding that he really wasn't in the right state of mind to deal with him and turned back to his shower.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"I don't like him Lee Jeno. I've barely met him a couple of times before." He pointed out rightfully.
"Does that matter? The heart wants what it wants."
"And when did you become such an expert?" Donghyuck rolled his eyes in dismay, wondering why he was even putting up with this. "What are you even questioning me for?"
At that, Jeno hesitated in answering. "Just... curiosity. Do you really not want to date anyone?"
Donghyuck offed the shower, taking a minute to think. Curiosity. What an obvious lie. He wasn't sure what Jeno was after though, so he could only answer truthfully.
"Of course it'll be nice to finally date someone. But it has to be with the right person."
"And you don't think... that Mark can be that person?"
He frowned. "Jeno... Your both idols. You should know better than me how people will react if they find out your dating. I don't want to get involved in that."
Donghyuck enjoyed his privacy, he didn't want people to dig into his life because of someone he was dating. That was too much for him.
There was no reply from Jeno, and after a while Donghyuck peeked his head around the curtain to check on his cousin.
Jeno seemed to be thinking deeply about something, too lost in his thoughts that it was concerning.
"Hey, are you going to sit there forever or can I come out without having to flash you?"
That stirred Jeno out of his own world and he stuttered out an apology, walking out of the bathroom.
What the heck was wrong with him?
Donghyuck tried not to think about it as he got ready for bed.
When he emerged from the bathroom, the living room was dark and he could see the outline of two figures on the ground.
As usual, Jeno was sleeping spread out like a starfish, the blankets flung around his body.
He was taking up much of the space, leaving only a small corner for Mark who was curled up in a ball on his side.
He looked so small and... defensive almost. The sight made Donghyuck's heart clench a little.
Quietly he readjusted Jeno's blanket before retreating into his room.
Donghyuck laid in his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
For how tired he was earlier, that seemed to have gone away with how awake he suddenly was.
He tossed and turned, finally getting a few hours of sleep.
Usually, Donghyuck got up around 6 so that he could open the bakery and prepare, but he was starting to give away some of his responsibilities to his employees, and thus today he wasn't in charge of opening the store, allowing him to sleep in.
It also meant that he missed Mark and Jeno leaving, as apparent by the neatly folded blankets on the couch.
On the dinner table was a small note, written in a neat handwriting so unlike Jeno's that it could only be Mark.
Sorry that we have to leave without saying goodbye. But I had fun today. If we have time, let's hang out again.
Bye.
Donghyuck felt a small smile curl on his lips as he read the note before abruptly stopping him.
No!
He should not be finding this cute!
Donghyuck repeated those words inside his head, trying to make himself believe it.
But a part of him already knew that it was too late, even though he didn't want to admit it.
He liked Mark Lee.
Crap.
___
This was horrible.
Donghyuck sighed, wanting to scream at the sight of the burned cookies.
"Alright," Kun spoke, "It's time you took a break. You've been baking all day and it's clearly taking a toll on you."
Donghyuck couldn't argue against that.
The bakery was closed for the day, and usually he would just laze around the apartment, but things were different today, and he really needed to relieve some stress.
Unfortunately, it seemed things were determined not to go his way and the new recipes he was working on were refusing to work with him.
"Go home and rest. I'll close things for the day." His fellow baker said, patting him on the shoulder.
Donghyuck hummed as a response, taking off his apron.
His feet dragged him along as he exited the bakery. His eyelids fought to stay open as exhaustion came over him.
It was then that his phone ringed, bringing him out of his daze.
"Hey-"
"Hyuck, I'm bringing Jeno over to your apartment right now. He's really drunk and I can't bring him back to the dorm in this state. Is it okay with you?" Mark blurted out in one quick sentence.
Donghyuck froze for a moment, only unfreezing when he heard the sound of Jeno's drunken singing.
"S-Sure. Injun should be home as well so he can let you in."
"Okay, thanks Hyuck."
Donghyuck quickened his pace home afterwards, his exhaustion melting away as he worried over Jeno.
His cousin didn't drink a lot, but he could definitely hold his soju. The very first time they drank together after becoming adults, it took him three bottles to get even slightly drunk. How much would he have had to drink to get to the state he was in now?
Donghyuck couldn't help but feel sorry as he looked at Jeno lying across the couch, limbs falling everywhere.
Mark sat awkwardly on the armrest of the couch while Renjun fussed over the drunk boy.
"Mark." He called out, grabbing the idol's attention before he pointed towards the balcony, intending to give the two space.
The air was cold as they stepped out, reminding Donghyuck was winter was coming soon.
"Are preparations going well?" He asked, trying to break the ice. While he had no problem teasing Mark over messages, it was hard to do in real life. A stark reminder of their differences.
"Yeah, it's going pretty smoothly."
"It's stressful right?"
Mark didn't even need to answer, Donghyuck could see it on his face. See it from the stress lines creasing his forehead, the dark circles under his eyes, the way his clothes hung off his body.
Mark heaved a sigh. "No kidding... I'm not a very good liar am I?"
"Maybe." Donghyuck teased slightly.
Both of them didn't talk for a bit, enjoying the comfortable silence between them.
"I'm sorry."
The apology from Mark caught Donghyuck off guard as he blinked in surprise. "For what?"
"For not taking care of Jeno properly. I shouldn't have let him get that drunk."
Donghyuck scoffed. "You can't police him. He's an adult, even if he acts more like a man-child. If he gets that drunk, that's his own fault. I'm just curious as to what made him drink so much."
Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the look on Mark's face. He definitely knew what was up.
"I'm worried. If you know why, I hope you'll tell me." He added.
Mark closed his eyes, looking conflicted before he gave in. "Jeno... likes Injun."
Donghyuck blinked. "That's it?" He asked, somewhat confused.
"Your not surprised?"
"Of course not, I've known for months now." Renjun and Jeno really weren't great at hiding their feelings after all, especially his cousin with all the heart eyes he sent the Chinese boy.
"So, you have no problem with them liking each other?"
"No... I'm gay after all." Donghyuck admitted quietly.
He didn't dare look at Mark's expression, a little afraid of what he would see. Why the heck did he even tell him? It wasn't something he usually told people since he knew how they would react, and if Mark reacted the same...
Fortunately the moment was broken by Renjun loudly stomping over to them. "Hyuck, I need you to help me buy medicine for Jeno."
"Give me money then." He retorted without missing a beat, a sense of relief flooding through his body.
"He's your cousin."
"And he's your crush."
Renjun's eyes went comically wide, darting over to Mark frantically. Donghyuck had to force himself not to laugh out loud at the sight.
Finally Renjun sighed. "Whatever, just go buy the medicine first."
"I can do it." Mark offered.
"It's better if you don't. We wouldn't want people to recognise you." Donghyuck spoke up. "I can do it."
In the end, the two of them went together to the store, Mark Donghyuck quickly located the hangover medicine and went to look for Mark, finally finding him in the snack alley, staring at a packet of potato chips.
"Do you want some?" He asked, startling the elder.
"No... I'm not supposed to. I'm on a diet."
Donghyuck could still tell that Mark wanted it though with the way he was eagerly eyeing it before forcefully pulling himself away.
As soon as he did, Donghyuck grabbed a small packet of chips, heading towards the counter to pay.
"You don't have to..." He heard the elder mutter, and Donghyuck replied, "I'm buying this for myself."
He ripped open the packet, grabbing a few pieces for himself as he caught up to Mark who had left the store. "Here." He offered it to him, waving it temptingly under his nose. "Surely you can eat a few pieces?"
Mark struggled for a moment before smiling, taking some for himself.
"How long has it been since you've eaten junk food?" Donghyuck asked curiously.
Mark shrugged, "A long time."
"Is that why you threw away the cupcake?"
Donghyuck asked that carelessly, not really all that bothered by it anymore, but Mark's face fell immediately. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to throw it."
"There's no need to apologise. I'm over it."
And it was true. Sure in the beginning he was a little offended that Mark would throw the cupcake away like that, but he was sure he didn't do it with malice or anything like that.
"Are you sure? I don't want you to dislike me..."
Donghyuck paused, turning to face Mark, noting the insecurity he could see in the elder's eyes.
"Hyung, I could never dislike you, and especially not because you threw out a cupcake that you bought. But please... don't do it again. It still kinda sucks."
"Hmn." Mark nodded his head, and he looked so cute that Donghyuck couldn't resist messing with his hair before quickly running away giggling.
"Lee Donghyuck, come back here!"
___
"Lee Donghyuck, please open the door!"
Donghyuck ignored the banging, hoping that if he ignored Mark for long enough, the idol would just go away on his own.
What the elder was even doing here for, he had no idea.
It had been a month since Donghyuck had last seen him; Mark and Jeno were busy preparing for their tour and were about to leave in a few days for the first concert.
They were still talking to each other, and their calls and messages were only getting longer by the day.
Or at least, they were before Donghyuck started ignoring him.
And he wasn't doing it with no reason, he had one, it was just hard to think of when Mark was literally a few feet and a door away.
"I'm not leaving until we talk Hyuck. So you can stop ignoring me."
Sighing, Donghyuck walked towards the door, opening it to face an unimpressed Mark on the other side.
"What is it you want to talk about?" He asked, trying to be as cold as possible.
"Your avoiding me." It wasn't a question.
Donghyuck scoffed, "How am I avoiding you when we haven't even said anything about meeting up? We're both busy people."
Mark's face softened, and the younger had to look away, feeling his heart speed up.
"Then what about my messages? You haven't been replying."
"I'm busy."
"You've always been busy, but at the very least you would send me texts."
Donghyuck swallowed, feeling irritation rise in him at how insistent Mark was being.
"Why do you even care so much?" He snapped, voice coming angrier than intended.
"Because I care about you. That's why." Mark replied, sounding just as frustrated.
Donghyuck closed his eyes, unable to deny it.
He knew Mark cared, but the problem was himself.
Donghyuck cared too much. Far too much.
Mark's dating scandal had made that painfully clear.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Donghyuck wondered out loud. "Your not a fool, I'm sure you can tell that I-"
"I know." Mark answered, knowing what he meant even if he couldn't finish. "I know. That's why I can't let you do this."
Donghyuck looked up at Mark, expression uncertain as the elder continued.
"You know the dating scandal was fake right? I don't even have time to eat or sleep properly so how would I have the time to go out and meet someone? So the scandal-"
"You don't need to tell me." Donghyuck cut him off. "I know it's fake. That isn't why..."
Mark was waiting for an answer, so he took a moment to compose himself before answering.
"Your scandal just...made things clear to me. I realised that we really are so different."
Just because of a rumor that a random user had posted on twitter, Mark had trended and his company even had to address it because the fandom was in outrage.
It was so utterly ridiculous. And yet so normal when it came to idols.
"You have so many fans that care about everything you do. I'm sure that it must make you happy, but for me? It's terrifying. I don't want to have to deal with that."
The crushed expression on Mark's face was hard to look at, especially when he was the one who put it there.
"... Okay then. I understand." Mark said after a long pause.
Donghyuck tried hard to keep a straight face, not wanting to get emotional in front of the idol.
It was his own fault for liking him when he knew he shouldn't have.
And now the two of them were hurting for it.
"I'm sorry Mark." He apologised softly.
He heard a sigh. "Don't be. You know, I hate it as well."
Donghyuck's heart broke a little at the admittion.
"I hate that I have no privacy anymore. I hate that I'm forever on the go. I hate that I don't get enough rest. I hate that I can't be myself. I hate that I can't even eat what I want. But... for me, I believe it's worth it."
Mark smiled, a small, oddly bitter-looking smile. "If I can stand on stage, I can give up everything. But I know that others can't. That you can't. You shouldn't be sorry, because I shouldn't have expected anything from the beginning."
Donghyuck didn't know what to say after that, standing numbly by the door as Mark left.
Strangely, his vision was blurry as he closed the door.
___
Time passed quickly.
Or at least, that was what Donghyuck imagined.
How long had it been since he last saw Mark? Six months or so apparently.
Donghyuck tried not to focus on the time, knowing it would only make things worse.
He focused on the shop instead, coming up with new ideas and recipes to draw customers in.
But he didn't know that his workaholic lifestyle was starting to worry his friends.
"No." Was Donghyuck's immediate answer.
"Come on, it'll be fun!" Renjun pleaded, holding up the two tickets. "See, they're VIP tickets! The boys also gave us backstage passes."
"I don't want to go." He answered again, resisting the idea.
"Don't try to lie to me. I've caught you listening to their music multiple times already, it's clear you've become their fan."
So what if he listened to their music? Just because it fit his taste didn't mean anything!
"Okay, if you go with me this one time, I won't bother you about them ever again. Promise."
Donghyuck could see the desperation in Renjun's eyes and finally gave in.
"Fine. When is it?"
"Tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow?!" He repeated in surprise. "Why are you only telling me about it now!?"
Renjun grinned, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "So that you can't back out. I've already asked Kun ge to take care of the store for you, so we have the whole of tomorrow to prepare."
Donghyuck glared at his friend, realising that he had planned everything out.
"Your so smart huh? Well you still have work today, so get back to it!" He ordered.
Renjun saluted him jokingly before returning back to making the drinks.
Donghyuck sighed, shaking his head as he also got back to work.
The very next day, Renjun woke him up early, claiming that they needed more time to get him ready.
Donghyuck grumbled the entire time, having to let his friend put makeup on his face.
Donghyuck wasn't bad at putting on makeup, in fact he was actually quite good, it had just been a while since he put on makeup because what was the point if nobody could see.
"Hmn, you've gotten better at eye-liner Junnie." Donghyuck commented, looking at himself in the mirror.
"I know. I need to get dressed, you can dress yourself right?"
Donghyuck rolled his eyes, waving Renjun out of his room.
He didn't really bother too much with his clothing, putting on a blue and white stripped dress shirt along with his favourite pair of faded skinny jeans.
But Donghyuck did at least put on some earrings and a bracelet to look nicer.
Renjun definitely wasn't very impressed, but he didn't care.
"Why are we even going so early?" Donghyuck asked upon reaching the venue and noticing there were only a few people walking around.
"We're going backstage first. If we don't want people noticing, it's best if we come earlier."
Donghyuck narrowed his eyes at Renjun. "How is it that you seem to know so much?"
"This isn't my first time coming to their concert. I usually come with Yangyang actually."
"Oh? Then why didn't you come with him today?"
"He has classes today that he can't skip."
"Nice to see that I'm just your backup."
Renjun smiled, leaning his head onto Donghyuck's shoulder. "Your my forever backup Hyuck-ah."
He shrugged off Renjun in annoyance, following as the elder showed their passes to the guard and they were allowed through.
The backstage was a mess of staff moving around and shouting orders at each other. More than once, Donghyuck had to dodge someone walking straight into him.
He reached out to Renjun, grabbing his hand so as to not lose track of him.
Finally, they came to a stop in front of the door labelled dressing room.
Donghyuck could feel his heart beat first, unconsciously squeezing Renjun's hand out of nerves.
"Hey, you okay?"
Donghyuck jumped a little, realising what he was doing. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
Renjun didn't look convinced, but opened the door nonetheless.
The idol group were in the middle of eating when Donghyuck met Mark's gaze, and the elder adruptly choked on his food.
Another member, a pink-haired boy immediately handed him a bottle of water that Mark gulped down hurriedly.
Was it that much of a shock for him to see Donghyuck again?
"Hyuck, you came!" Jeno came over, slinging an arm around his shoulder with a big grin. "I wasn't sure if you would."
At that, Donghyuck couldn't help but feel bad, realising that he hadn't ever shown much support towards his cousin.
"Thank Jun for bringing me here or I wouldn't have come."
Jeno then turned his attention towards Renjun, engaging him in a conversation that Donghyuck quickly lost track of.
His entire focus was directed on Mark, who was talking to another member, a tall foreign-looking boy.
Without saying a word, he left the room to find the bathroom, wanting to escape for a moment.
Your such a mess Lee Donghyuck. Why are you such a mess?
Why are you even like this when you were the one who ended things?
Huh? What right do you have to act like this?
Donghyuck splashed water onto his face, desperately trying to chase away those bad thoughts.
"Donghyuck?"
The sound of his name drew his attention, and he looked up to see the pink-haired boy from earlier.
"Hello?" He greeted uncertainly, unable to recall his name.
"I'm Jaemin. But I'm sure you must already know that. I'm Jeno's group mate, it's nice to meet you."
Oh thank god. "I'm Donghyuck, but you must already know that as well."
"Yup. Jeno talked about you, but recently Mark hyung does all the talking."
Donghyuck went stiff at the mention of the elder.
"You two seem close. Hyung was always happy texting and calling you."
Huh? "What do you mean?"
"It was easy to tell if it was you, hyung would have a huge grin on his face. He's never like that, he doesn't like online communication."
Donghyuck hadn't known that. Somehow that knowledge made his heart feel heavier.
"I don't know what happened between the two of you, but I hope you can work things out. It's been a while since I've seen Mark hyung so happy."
With that, Jaemin left the bathroom, leaving Donghyuck to have to think about what he said.
Finally, he left the bathroom, still lost in thought.
"Donghyuck, there you are!" Renjun called out, running over to him.
"Why did you leave without telling me? Fortunately Jaemin told me that you were in the bathroom. Now come on, the concert is about to start."
Donghyuck let himself be pulled, not really listening as Renjun talked to him.
It was only when they were in their seats that he finally snapped out of it.
What was the heck was he even doing? Ever since meeting Mark, he has done nothing but stumble through it all.
Donghyuck doesn't know what to do when he's around the elder. What to say, how to act, what to even feel.
Donghyuck doesn't know a single thing about love and what it brings, but if there's one thing he knows...
He likes Mark. He likes Mark far too much.
Music fills the stadium as the group steps on the stage.
His eyes only follow Mark as he moves, feet light like he was walking on air.
Donghyuck knew Mark was good at performing, especially after watching so many of his videos, but in person?
He's beautiful.
It's like he has a spotlight directed straight on him that Donghyuck can't take his eyes off.
Every move, every word, flows right through him and reaches across the entire stadium, causing such loud cheers that Donghyuck's ears ring.
Ah, no wonder he said he could give up everything for the stage.
The entire concert, his eyes trail after Mark, carefully watching every action.
"What do you think?!" Renjun shouts over the noise. "They're great right?"
Donghyuck can only smile, nodding his head in agreement.
Mark was truly great.
___
"Ah, so that was the moment you realised you had fallen in love with me?"
"No, I just realised that I liked you. A lot."
"Hmn, whatever you say sunshine."
"Your being way too cocky Lee."
"Hahaha, but aren't you glad? If you haven't gone to the concert, then you wouldn't have realised and we wouldn't be here right now."
"I guess."
"I'm glad. That you finally followed your heart."
Donghyuck looks up then, staring straight into Mark's eyes.
Until now, he still doesn't understand how the idol's eyes sparkle so bright, soft with so much fondness that it makes him ache inside.
It always makes him think back to the first time he saw that look.
To the conversation they shared backstage at that very concert.
And he leans in once again, kissing Mark softly and whispers quietly, "It hasn't lead me astray so far."