Slight mention of homophobia

Mark was thirteen when he first saw Donghyuck get beat up. It all happened under the tree in their school garden. A few guys from Mark's class were hovering over Donghyuck, smirks on their faces and their fists ready to be thrown. Mark watched as Donghyuck was thrown to the ground, his eyes shut in pain as his arm came in contact with the rough concrete floor. Mark watched as the boys placed their feet on Donghyuck's shoulder, a string of slurs leaving their mouths, and Mark watched as Donghyuck got up from the ground, a determined expression on his bruised face, and he raised his arm to fight back. But he couldn't. The boys grabbed him, roughly shoving him into the tree trunk, a curse leaving his mouth and a bit of blood.

Mark watched as Donghyuck dropped to the floor, the bullies scrambling to their feet as a security guard chased them out of the school. Donghyuck kept his eyes trained on the boys, glaring at their backs and waiting for them to disappear from his sight. Only after they vanished, alongside the guard, Donghyuck closed his eyes, the hot water escaping his eyes, and staining his tanned cheeks. Sobs echoed in the empty garden, and Mark finally moved from his spot, nearly tripping over a few rocks whilst making his way to the younger. He snaked his arms around his waist, grunting as he helped him get off from the ground.

Donghyuck continued crying, stuffing his face into Mark's neck in an attempt to muffle himself. He cried as they walked out of the gates, passing by the guard who failed to catch the bullies, he cried as they went past the park they always used to have fun, he cried as they turned the corner to the street of Donghyuck's house.

"Mark hyung," Donghyuck called out, yet his voice came out so tiny that it made Mark feel bad for not helping. "Is there something wrong with me?"

The question made him stop in his tracks, his head whipping to shoot a confused look at Donghyuck. The younger boy cowered under Mark's arm, conscious of his appearance and because of the question. Cars passed by them, and the silence only worsened as a group of older guys ran across the street, screaming at the top of their lungs. Mark wasn't sure how to answer the question, mostly because he had no idea what Donghyuck was talking about, and because he wondered if it was related to the bullies.

"No?" He replied, but the word came out more as a question rather than the answer, making Donghyuck even more uncomfortable. He ducked his head low and nodded, letting go of Mark's arm and walking ahead of him. "Wait, Hyuck, what do you mean by that?"

"As in," Donghyuck turned around, clearing his throat and harshly wiping the tears off his cheeks, his face tinting into a red colour from all the crying and bruised. "Is there something wrong with me that all those people fight me? They always talk about my dad's, there's nothing wrong with my dad's, is there? Mark Hyung, come on, answer me."

That wasn't what he had been expecting. Throughout the years that Mark knew Donghyuck, and that was ever since birth Donghyuck had never once had second thoughts about his parents. Of course, he knew he was adopted, clearly since both of his parents were males, and because of the documents he found hidden under a pile, but he knew once thought it was wrong. So why was he thinking like this now? Twelve years afterwards?

"There isn't anything wrong with your dad's, they're just...horrible people, ignore them." Mark said, bringing a hand to Donghyuck's head and patting it gently. The gesture caused the younger's face to heat up even more, but Mark guessed it was because of all the stress he was experiencing. "Now come on, I'm sure your dad's are waiting for you."

"Yeah." Donghyuck sniffled, rubbing his face with his sleeves and replacing his frown with a bright smile, although it was slightly crooked be side of his swollen lips. His smile was so wide, Mark wondered if it was fake.

Mark was fourteen when he found out Donghyuck had gotten into a proper fight. Apparently some kids had cornered him into a classroom, locking the doors and mocked him. Apparently Donghyuck had stayed down, eyes glued to the ground and he pretended to not listen to what they were saying. Apparently after his parents got mentioned, he had immediately jumped up from the ground, raising his fists and punching one of the guys straight in the face. Apparently he got two out of the five kids into the hospital with a broken nose and bruised eye.

Donghyuck was never violent, but he did have a short temper. As much as he would ignore the things people said about him, he would still feel the burn of the words deep inside. However, he locked them away, not caring about what people had to say about him, because who the hell were they to make him feel like trash? But, whenever something about one, or both, or his dad's was said, he wouldn't be able to take it. Normally, Donghyuck would passive aggressively insult the people, looking down at them before turning away, since he could care less about them.

But him punching someone? Beating someone up? That was new. Clearly, Mark couldn't let their parents find out, so he thanked the fact that he had made his phone number Donghyuck's parent contact details (something him and the younger had agreed upon when sneaking the letter into school). During class, his phone rang, and Mark hastily made an excuse to go to the bathroom. Without batting an eye, the teacher dismissed him, and Mark rushed into the toilets, answering the call and attempting to act as if he was parent.

The teacher he spoke to (some Mr Seo he will never see again, hopefully) told him about how Donghyuck had very badly injured someone, resulting in them going to the infirmary. Instead of asking for compensation of a sort, the teacher apologised for the behaviour of the kids that got hurt. Mark was confused, but hummed along to everything, before muttering a thank you and ending the call.

He later found out that Donghyuck had hurt one of them because of the names they called him, before getting beaten up by the other four, and that he, in fact, was the second student to end up in the infirmary.

Instead of going to check on Donghyuck, Mark stuffed his phone in his pocket, before hurrying back into class and taking a seat, stealing a glance at the girl, Yerim, sitting next to him. At that moment, he had other priorities, and sadly, Donghyuck wasn't one of them.