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The music on the mini wireless speakers blasts to maximum volume. The temperature of shower water must be set really hot judging from the thick steam inside the bathroom. Mark quietly takes off his clothes and haphazardly discards them on the floor. He sees clothes neatly hanging on the hook rack behind the door. Mark didn’t think Haechan is the type of guy that hangs his clothes this meticulously. But it’s not like they’ve been talking a lot about what happens to their clothes when off anyway.
Mark has been casually sleeping with Haechan for a week now. It’s nothing serious. Usually, he comes over to Mark's place to fool around, so when Haechan invited him over to his place for a change, Mark thought it’s a good way to spice up their routine. And maybe this is it, this must be what Haechan thought of. Shower sex are always fun when given a chance.
Wordlessly, Mark slides the shower curtains and hops in. Haechan hasn’t seemed to have noticed his presence yet. The loud music greatly helps in concealing any noise from him.
The fog is thick but he can see an outline of a lean body turned away from him. Has Haechan’s back always looked this delicate? Mark hasn’t noticed before. He knows Haechan is slim but not this small and not this skinny, but maybe it’s just an illusion from the water spraying everywhere. So without wasting another second, he slides his hands on the wet narrow waist in front of him and whispers in his ear, “Hi.”
“WHAT THE FUCK!” An elbow forcefully jabs to Mark’s middle.
“Dude, what the–” Mark folds with the sudden attack, “Haech–”
That is not Haechan. Shit.
Not Haechan quickly hops out of the shower, not even bothering to turn off the water. Mark takes a second to gather himself, his ribs hurt and it’s probably going to bruise, but what the fuck. Who was that?
“Haechan, call the police! Some fucker got into the apartment!” Mark hears yelling outside the bathroom door, that must be Not Haechan’s voice.
“What the fuck?!” Now Mark hears Haechan’s voice.
Shit, shit, shit.
Mark quickly turns off the water and hurries to make himself known. He grabs whatever he can to cover himself and darts outside.
“Mark?!” Haechan shouts once he sees an almost naked Mark appear suddenly in the living room in front of them.
“Him!” Not Haechan screams, “That’s the fucker that came out of nowhere while I was showering!”
“What? No! I thought you were– I thought Haechan–” Mark scrambles to form a coherent counter, but even his brain can’t help him now. Not that it ever did, anyway.
Fuck, Mark should’ve known Haechan isn’t the clothes-hang-neatly-at-the-back-of-door-hook type of person.
Haechan bursts out into laughter– obnoxious, unadulterated laughter. He almost topples to the floor as he laughs openly and even starts tearing up from laughing too hard.
“This is the funniest shit ever!” He continues to laugh blatantly at the situation, at Mark.
“What’s going on?” Not Haechan asks confused, “Haechan, do you know this guy?”
Frozen and shell shocked, Mark is speechless. He feels the cold air, his skin is a little wet still and he’s not wearing much. The boxers he put on is a little damp from the water that he had no time to wipe off from his skin. At least Not Haechan has a robe on.
“He’s a friend!” Haechan wipes a tear from his eyes, “Shit, Mark put some clothes on, I’m going to make coffee. And please, someone turn off that loud music.”
So Not Haechan has a name and apparently he’s Haechan’s roommate.
Renjun.
“So you thought I was the one in the showers?” Haechan pops a popcorn in his mouth. The crazy bastard had the audacity to bring out snacks after he made everyone sit around the tiny dining table of the apartment to hear the whole story, as if it isn’t obvious enough.
Mark has asked so many times to whoever is in charge of the universe and so far his request has never been granted, but please, can the ground swallow him up now? Just this once, he’s begging.
“I didn’t know you had a roommate,” Mark says embarrassed.
Renjun glares at him, “So you decide to hop in and do what? Fuck under the stream of water?”
“Oh, we haven’t done that! Good idea, Mark Lee!” Haechan snaps his fingers and points at Mark like what a boss would do when an employee brings up a brilliant idea to a brainstorming meeting.
“Haechan!” If he could strangle his friend right now, he would. He knows Haechan is casual about sex, very open and is just having fun with it all. But still, would it kill him to be decent for once? Especially in front of Renjun, who, from the looks of it, probably wants to murder him cold right now.
Connecting both of his hands’ index fingers and thumbs together to shape a rectangle, Haechan angles his makeshift frame towards Mark and Renjun, looks through it and squints.
“Looks good, if I might say,” he comments amused, “I think, yes.”
Renjun slaps Haechan’s arm to put it down. “What the fuck are you thinking? Don’t!”
If Mark can’t strangle Haechan, maybe Renjun will.
Mark leaves their apartment alive. Renjun didn’t murder him and Haechan let him live. But he still might as well have died.
From Lee Haechan:
come by any time 😂
From Mark:
fuck off im never coming back there
From Lee Haechan:
i feel like renjun wont mind 💦😏
From Mark:
💀💀💀
Naturally, Mark doesn’t sleep with Haechan again. Whenever they see each other, Haechan ends up bursting into laughter remembering what happened in their apartment.
“Shit’s too funny,” he would wheeze every time. If they weren’t friends, Mark would’ve avoided Haechan like the plague. He can only take so much from reliving in his mind like a broken record the most embarrassing moment of his life, and it’s at Haechan’s mercy too. He’s done for.
But who Mark doesn’t get to avoid like the plague is Renjun. Around campus, at the coffee shop down the street, at the record store a block away, even at the gym Mark goes to (apparently that’s where Renjun just recently started working part-time at), he bumps to him everywhere. It’s as if the universe is taunting him.
And every time, without fail, when their eyes meet, Renjun would send him the most obvious, dirtiest glare the boy can muster in his slight body. People are actually coming up to Mark to ask what he did to the guy for him to look at him like that.
“Your roommate is going to kill me one of these days,” Mark runs his hand through his hair.
“Oh, he can,” Haechan laughs at his friend’s misery.
“It’s like everywhere I turn, he’s there just waiting to attack me,” Mark groans, “Even in my sleep, I can’t get him out of my mind!”
“Oh?” Haechan quirks his eyebrow, a playful smile blooms on his face.
“I don’t mean it like that, whatever you’re thinking!” Of course, Mark didn’t mean it by anything. It’s just what it is. He has dreamt about Renjun more times than he could count, or more accurately, has nightmares about him. Though, Mark can’t really say being plagued by a pretty face like that in his slumber is considered a nightmare exactly. But still, the cold sweat he wakes up to isn’t what he calls a sweet dream either.
“You should apologize then,” Haechan quips. He’s leaning back on his seat, casually sipping his iced coffee, “Ask for a truce.”
“Only if he’d let me! The guy wouldn’t even look at me other than with utter disgust and hatred.”
“Can you blame him? Like, dude! Take him out to dinner first before you try sticking your dick into his–” Before Haechan can continue the rest of what he’s about to say, Mark lunges forward to smack his hands to shut his mouth. He’s a little late, considering Haechan has already said a whole thought that no one can possibly misunderstand. And with the way everyone at the coffee shop stares at them, it seems more likely they have heard it loud and clear. Mark thinks he heard someone snort too.
“I was not–” Mark grits his teeth, “trying to do anything to him!”
Haechan breaks free from Mark’s grab and rolls his eyes, “God, I would have if I had Renjun’s naked ass in front of me.”
“You are unbelievable.”
“I try,” he shrugs. “Listen, make it up to him. Treat him to a meal or something.”
Mark contemplates his friend’s words. He does feel bad about what happened, even if it’s all a misunderstanding. And he does feel shitty that he hasn’t apologized properly. It’s the least he could do after everything, right?
“So what do you say? I can even talk to him for you if you’re scared of approaching him, I’ll tell him you really feel bad and you want to make it right and shit.”
Mark furrows his eyebrows and studies Haechan’s facial expression, “Why does this feel like a set up?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Haechan brushes him off, “Trust me, Renjun is harmless, most of the time. I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”
“Fine! If I continue seeing him like this everywhere anyway, we might as well be on good terms,” Mark succumbs to Haechan’s suggestion. Renjun seems like a reasonable guy, sans the excessive glaring and dirty looks. Maybe Mark really should make it up to the boy. And if that’s how he’ll get back the peace of mind that no one’s out to kill him, then maybe he should do it.
“That’s the spirit!” Haechan whoops, “It’s a date then.”
“A what?”
Mark doesn’t know what kind of power Haechan has because holy shit, he actually got Renjun to go see him.
Renjun (willingly? Mark isn’t sure yet) agreed to see him, and maybe if everything goes well, might even forgive him and stop glowering at him not too discreetly in public places.
Mark waits outside the gym for Renjun to finish his shift. A few days after Haechan initially tells Mark the good news, Mark begins planning his ‘Make Renjun Forgive Mark Thus World Peace’ plan in detail. He heard from the only source he has (Lee Haechan, roommate and friend) that Renjun loves hotpot. Maybe if he took him to dinner to his favorite place with his favorite dish, the boy will soften more quickly and save Mark a world of pain. You know what they say? The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
What? Mark catches himself in thought. He’s not trying to win Renjun’s heart. This is not going to be some romantic night where they’d end up staring into each other’s eyes and fall for each other under the moonlight. This is not a date!
It’s not. Right?
Suddenly, Mark feels a lot more nervous than before.
After a few minutes, Renjun comes out, and when he sees Mark, promptly approaches him. He’s wearing a simple white shirt half tucked in to his black pants, his backpack hangs from one shoulder easily. It’s simple and cute. Not like Mark’s outfit which he stressed over for more than hour picking, trying to put together a nice date outfit.
Not a date, Mark. He reminds himself.
“Hi.” Mark winces the moment he says the greeting. That is exactly what he said to Renjun in the goddamn shower too. Not a good start.
Renjun sighs and doesn’t even bother to return a smile at him, “I was told you wanted to say something to me.”
“Oh,” Mark swallows the lump in his throat, “I wanted to apologize about what happened. I really didn’t mean to do that to you and I swear it was an honest mistake. I’m really sorry.”
Renjun stares at him. His mouth forms a straight line and his nose scrunches adorably.
This close, Mark finally gets to look at Renjun’s features more intently. Bright eyes, soft cheekbones, nose straight but with a gentle slope at the tip, lips pink and full. Pretty.
If Mark dreamt of him before, then now with the way his brain is enjoying studying and memorizing his face, he wouldn’t be able to get his image out of his mind, asleep or awake, even if he tried.
“Okay, I forgive you,” Renjun finally says, “And I guess I should apologize too for dragging this out this long. I believe you for saying it’s an honest mistake. You were just horny and–”
“I wasn’t horny!” Mark almost yells. People passing by them turn to him curiously. He feels his cheek burn, “It was an honest mistake, it was stupid.”
“If you say so,” Renjun shrugs, clutching the strap of his backpack tighter, “Well then, if that’s it, I’ll be going.” He steps to leave.
Mark panics, “Wait! I thought–”
“Did Haechan rope you into taking me out on a ‘date’?” Renjun gestures an air quote with his fingers, “Don’t listen to him, he’s dumb.”
“No, yeah,” Mark splutters, “I mean, he is dumb, but I really do want to make it up to you though, let me take you to dinner?”
“You don’t have to–”
“I was thinking of hotpot?” Mark tries his luck.
Renjun visibly brightens, his back straightens in an instant. He lets a smile slip into his expression before schooling it back to neutral, “Oh?”
Cute. Mark’s mind supplies. Maybe his luck is finally turning around.
Mark learns Renjun’s default look is not, in fact, a glare. As it so happens, Renjun apparently has a wide spectrum of looks. So far, Renjun’s most used look is amused, at least at the expense of Mark. The way he arches his eyebrow and lets a small smile bloom on his face is enough for Mark to not mind being dumb in front of the pretty boy for the night.
As they wait for their food to get served, Mark confesses, “I actually haven’t tried hotpot before.”
“What?” Renjun gasps. Shock is an understatement, Renjun is looking at Mark like he just said the most unbelievable thing ever, like confessing he has bananas for toes. “Why are we here then? I thought you wanted to eat hotpot?”
“Well, I heard you like it,” Mark trails, his eyes looking down at his lap.
He doesn’t dare look up at Renjun at first, fearing for the worst. It doesn’t help that Renjun doesn’t say anything back for the longest time too. Now, Mark’s fears have fears. Bracing himself, he peeks and sees Renjun with his lower lips jutted out adorably.
“Mark Lee.” Renjun is pouting. Cute.
Mark feels his inside somersault. Is it because of the pretty face staring at him intently or because of the way he says his name so cutely? Or is it perhaps both? Mark doesn’t know, but he likes the feeling nonetheless.
Renjun sighs but puts on a determined face. “I guess I’ll have to make you realize what you’ve been missing out on.”
Mark can’t help but smile at that. “Yeah, I guess so too.”
By the end of the night, after a good meal and equally good company, Mark realizes a lot of things. For one, his favorite look on Renjun is when he laughs. Eyes disappearing in a nice crescent, mouth open, head thrown back as he cackles in delight. Another thing he realizes is he likes it best when he’s the one causing it.
With a truce established, Mark feels confident interacting again with Renjun. In fact, he feels like they’ve established more than a truce after that night. The next few days, Mark frequents all the places he and Renjun have accidentally seen each other back when he still tried to avoid him. At the spots at campus they’ve crossed paths with, at the coffee shop down the street, by the record store two blocks away. Mark wants to see Renjun and he wants Renjun to see him.
But as if the universe is, once again, playing with him, now that he isn’t avoiding Renjun, Renjun can’t be found anywhere.
Haechan calls him a loser and offers to give Renjun’s number so he can just message him, instead of him hopelessly waiting for Renjun at some random locations, wishing for another miracle chance meeting.
But of course Mark and his pride declines the offer, he’d rather ask Renjun his number himself than be roped into another scheme by Haechan in exchange of the prized phone digits. Though he can’t exactly be mad at him when Haechan did technically was a big part of why they’re on good terms now, even if he did set them up on a date. But still, Mark wants to go this his way now.
And besides, he can always go to the gym (which he is a member of! Mark supplies) and see Renjun there. But Mark doesn’t want to appear pathetically desperate for attention. He needs to look cool and smooth. Cool as cucumber, smooth as butter. Cool as cucumber, smooth as butter. Cool as cucumber, smooth as butter.
“You’ve gone out with him one time!” Haechan laughs in his face, “One time! And you’re already so into him! Wow, Huang Renjun, your power!”
“Am not!” Mark argues, “I just find him cute, okay?”
“Just remember, the next time you join him in the shower, actually make him feel good, yeah?” Haechan winks at him.
“Shut up!” Mark flushes beet red. Though, he can’t lie and say he hasn’t caught himself daydreaming about a similar fantasy the past few days too, albeit in a confined private space where he isn’t ashamed to grow a boner.
Sometimes, the tips of his fingers remember the smooth wet skin of the waist he touched. To feel that again, longer, closer, firmly...
Mark sinks further into his seat. Fuck. He has a crush on a pretty boy that is out of his league, and just by thinking about him got him turned on again, and of all places, in public. Nothing is going his way.
And that must be the theme of his life. Because for another week, as if the gods really have a vendetta against him, Mark doesn’t get to see Renjun in any of the places they have accidentally seen each other before.
He has seen him once though, by accident by the coffee shop and that’s it. Mark just finished a gruesome presentation and mindlessly headed to his favorite coffee shop for a power drink. When he entered the establishment, he was met with kind brown eyes and a gentle smile.
“Hey, Mark,” Renjun greeted sweetly.
Mark was awestruck and could only stupidly wave back at him as Renjun exited the shop.
Mark wants to pull out his hair with the memory.
Screw the universe! Mark is going to the gym.
It takes him three visits, a couple of lifts of dumbbells to keep the appearance of being there for the benefit of his health and physique, a lot of guts to walk up to Renjun to chat, a few puns that he will never do again, and loads of helpless fumbling and flirting to finally ask Renjun for his number. Mark thinks it’s worth it.
From Mark:
hey
From RJ:
hey to you too
From Mark:
so i was thinking
do u wanna go out sometime?
with me?
Mark shuts his eyes tight and presses send.
on like a date?
From RJ:
A date?
From Mark:
yeah
only if u want to i mean
like when ur free?
we can workout a sched
u know “workout” like in a gym, working out in a gym
get it? 😂
bcus u work in a gym and i go there too lol
...
oh god im sorry
please block me
From RJ:
Lol you’re cute mark lee
Maybe with their first date (“So now you call it a date?” Haechan whined, “When I called it that, you almost strangled me.”), it was his friend who set it up. But for their second, it’s all Mark. He takes all the credit for this one. And it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Mark made Renjun laugh a lot. Check.
Mark flirted like a pro. Check.
Renjun flirted back. Check.
Renjun called him cute and actually blushed when Mark said he’s the cute one. Double check.
He feels like a highschool kid on a high. Mark hasn't felt this giddy for the longest time. Spending time with Renjun has his heart soaring to the highest heights and falling into the deepest depths, all at the same time. But then when Renjun smiles at him, all gentle and soft, Mark feels his heart calm, like it’s floating on serene waters. He marvels at all the sensations Renjun manages to make him feel. And when Renjun gently holds Mark’s hand as they walk home, another feeling blooms in Mark’s chest. He keeps it safely secured in his heart.
As he walks Renjun back to his apartment, Mark slows down his stride to have Renjun longer in his grasp.
By their third date, they end up back at Mark’s apartment. Renjun is on Mark’s lap, straddling him and kissing him eagerly like a starved man.
“Oh god,” Mark mumbles into their kiss. This is really happening.
Renjun’s lips are soft, as Mark suspected. And he’s good, so good. But it’s so difficult to kiss back as fiercely as he wants to because– he doesn’t know what to do with his hands.
He doesn’t just want to touch Renjun without his permission, like with the unfortunate incident they had the first time they met.
So his hands hang suspended around Renjun, awkwardly gripping air, sometimes he tries to hold onto the fabric of the sofa. But fuck, it’s impossible. Renjun swipes his tongue over Mark’s lower lip and Mark may have heard himself whimper. His hands shoot up to do something, anything, but it ends up grappling on air.
Renjun must have noticed Mark’s awkward hands floating about and smirks as they kiss, “Hold me.”
Mark’s eyes shoot wide open and Renjun laughs unabashed, holding onto Mark’s shoulders to steady himself.
“Are– are you sure?” Mark asks tentatively.
Renjun looks at him with warm eyes and before diving back to slot their lips together. He whispers softly, “Yes.”
As they go back to the bruising rhythm of their mouths taking in each other, carefully, Mark places his hands on Renjun’s waist. Finally, Mark feels like he can give Renjun the same intensity he has been giving him in their kisses.
He deepens the kiss, heat pooling at the pit of his stomach, their bodies moving against each other close and heavy. It feels so good, having Renjun all to him.
Mark’s hands slip under Renjun’s shirt, and it feels a hundred times better. He grasps Renjun’s waist, cold hands against warm skin. It’s nothing like that time when he touched him under the stream of water in the shower, because this time, instead of an elbow to the ribs, Renjun answers back by working his own hands to cup Mark’s jaw tenderly, angling his head for the kiss to go deeper.
Mark tightens his hold on to Renjun and lifts him to take him to his room. He makes a mental note to send his roommate a message about him having company that the night.
A few weeks later.
“Haechan!”
“Dude!” Marks says almost at the same time as Renjun acknowledges his roommate’s presence.
“Hello Renjun, hello Mark,” Haechan greets them casually, as if he didn’t just catch them coming out of the bathroom together, both wet and obviously spent.
Renjun, his boyfriend, is flushed red, “I didn’t know you’d come home early.”
“I could tell,” he eyes them mischievously, “Sounds like you had fun in there.”
Mark sends a sheepish smile at Haechan. Honestly, he’d be way more embarrassed if not for the fact that it isn’t the first time they’ve been seen walking out of the shower together, although the last time was under very different conditions. Mark can say he likes this time way, way better.
“Were we loud?”
“Mark!” Renjun shrieks in horror.
“The loud music didn’t hide anything at all.”
“Haechan!” Maybe this time, Renjun won’t hold back and finally strangle them both.