"Wake up." A voice said.

No response.

"Mark hyung, wake up." The voice repeated, and this time he felt a tug on his shoulder.

No response.

"Mark hyung wake up this instant or else I'm throwing you off the roof."

And with that Mark snapped his eyes open, immediately regretting it when light blinded him and he shut them right back close. A whine came out of his mouth and his hands covered his face.

"Finally." The voice groaned, coming closer and closer to Mark, until it was right in front of him. "Open your eyes Markie."

"Donghyuck?" Mark questioned, cracking open one of his eyes and meeting Donghyuck's in the process. The light from the bulb above them was being covered by Donghyuck, and he thanked the younger in his mind from saving him. "What am I doing here?"

"You were sleeping, and now you're asking questions." Donghyuck replied literally, standing up straight before leaning over to the nightstand, picking up the glass of water that was there and a tablet. "Here, have medicine, you got yourself a fever."

"Just as I wanted." Mark mumbled, nodding his head and throwing the tablet in his mouth, gulping down a whole glass, before passing it back. "What happened before I fell unconscious?"

"We were talking about our soulmates." Donghyuck answered, putting the cup away and then taking a seat on a chair next to the bed. His gaze lingered on Mark's finger, before he looked up at him. "And I told you about how you were wrong about me not loving you."

"Donghyuck." Mark's voice came out strained, as if he was trying his best not to burst into tears. "You don't need to pity me. That's not what I meant by mentioning how we were friends. I don't want you to force yourself to—"

"Oh my god, do you ever just shut up and listen?" Donghyuck groaned loudly, throwing his head back in annoyance, and then running a hand through his already messy hair. The sweat pooled around his collarbone, and the state of his clothes gave Mark the assumption that he hadn't been out cold for too long. "Mark, I'm not doing this out or pity or anything."

"Then... why are you doing this? You don't believe in love, you never have. You always found a way to bring down love stories, criticize people and relationships, and have always hated the idea of soulmates."

"I'm doing this," Donghyuck threw his hands up, his body language showing how frustrated he was, and Mark made a note to stay quiet till the younger had finished. "Because I love you! I have since we were younger, and I do believe in love. I love soulmates, and I've read every single stupid romance book on that stupid shelf of yours, and everything I said about love were not my opinion, but just my brothers!"

"You...love me?" Mark left his mouth wide open, and Donghyuck moaned loudly again, holding his head in his hands. A blush crept up Mark's face, but he quickly shook it away. "Then why did you pretend to hate everything related to it?"

"Because," Donghyuck raised his head, his tanned skin was a darker shade, and not many people could tell when he was blushing, but Mark could. "I was scared we wouldn't end up being soulmates, and that I'd have to see you be with another person, all happy and sappy, whilst I would be with another person, who'd most probably fall in love with me, because I'm that amazing, but I wouldn't be able to love them back. And all of that would be because you would be the person I would be loving. It was so selfish for me to want you, want to be with you, or even love you from afar, knowing there was a high chance of me ending up with someone else, and that's why I despised my thoughts, my feelings...love."

"Why did you cut it?" Mark whispered, still shocked by the sudden confession, and he was scared Donghyuck might be able to hear his heart beating against his chest in the silence of the room.

"Cut what?" Donghyuck raised his eyebrows, confused by the question, and Mark fiddled with his fingers uncomfortably.

"The red string?"

"I should be asking you that, Mark hyung." Donghyuck said, his sharp eyes making Mark cower in the blankets, and his harsh tone reminding him that he had done something so stupid. 

"I thought you didn't love me, and that if you were to find out we were soulmates, you would end up hating me." Mark bit down on his lip, the guilt rising up inside him, ready to bubble out of him through tears. 

"Mark hyung." Donghyuck sighed, his hands dropping to his lap, and his voice sounding so dejected it made Mark's heart ache. "I could never hate you, sadly, the only feeling I have towards you is love, and I can't seem to change it. I've been waiting for our red strings to appear, so that I could check to see whether or not we were soulmates. I've been watching you restrict yourself from developing crushes on people in our class, your worst one being Jaemin. I—"

Donghyuck paused, his toes curled in, and his hands clenched into fists and he tried to calm his erratic breathing. It was clear he was disturbed by everything, and Mark felt horrible for never noticing Donghyuck's feelings. If he had known, he could've changed so many things. Or maybe, if Mark didn't run away on Donghyuck's birthday, been a little braver and spoken about how his feelings towards the younger, all of this wouldn't have happened. And Donghyuck wouldn't have been in so much pain.

"Donghyuck." Mark said, holding his hand out, gently placing it over Donghyuck's and flashing a small smile at him. "I also—"

"No you don't." Donghyuck shook his head, jerking his hand away and refusing to hear what Mark had to say. "I thought you did, from the way you reacted to Lucas, but it you really did, then you wouldn't have gotten so upset to see that we were soulmates, you wouldn't have tried to cut off ties with me and I completely understand, you don't have to—"

"No listen," Mark cut him off, realising that his misunderstanding caused Donghyuck to misinterpret his actions into something worse. "I was just scared that you would not want to be around me anymore, and that you yourself would want to cut the string. I thought I was doing you a favour, no matter how much it hurt me."

Donghyuck remained silent as Mark sat up in bed, swinging his legs to the side and shuffling forwards, his arms reaching out to grab Donghyuck's shoulders, smiling as the younger didn't flinch from his touch. He pulled the silver haired boy towards himself, wrapping his arms around the younger and tucking his chin over his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh. All of this was such a waste of time, if only they spoke about this before. 

"Lee Donghyuck." Mark muttered, tightening his grip on the younger when he felt him attempt to pull away. "My best friend of—hmm—ow!" He paused, pretending to think before giggling when he got pinched on his stomach by Donghyuck, "Okay, okay, sorry —Thirteen years. The guy who once jumped off a cliff with me when we wanted to break our bones, which was a failure because there was water under us. The guy who stuffed my bed with cheese because I forgot his about 12th birthday. The guy who has the best voice I've ever heard. The guy with the cutest, roundest, and prettiest—"

"Ah shut up, just get to the point will you?" Donghyuck grumbled, slapping Mark's chest but not pulling away (he was clearly enjoying this). Mark chuckled before pulling away from the younger, the smile on his face widening and he softly ran his hand down Donghyuck's hair, to his neck before cupping his cheek.

"What I'm trying to say is," Mark rubbed circles on Donghyuck's cheek, leaning forwards and connecting their foreheads, the sudden intimacy between them making Donghyuck break eye contact and clear his throat. "I also love you Lee Donghyuck."

And with that, an explosion occurred in the room. A red light flashed, and the two covered their eyes by instinct. The same feeling they experienced a year and two ago erupted inside them. Mark opened his eyes, lowering his hands and staring in awe as a red coloured glitter-like object flew around in the room, a buzzing sound following it and Mark felt his stomach flip. The powder dropped from the ceiling, scattering across the floor and then started rolling in on itself. A line formed, and soon it became a whole thread, lacing with another one and floating towards Mark and Donghyuck. One side of the edge curved around Donghyuck's pinky, tying a knot carefully, whilst the other edge laced round Mark's finger, building a loop and passing through it. As it completed the process, something Mark will always remember, the light dimmed out, and the two were left alone in the room, shocked and surprised by this sudden change.

"Well…" Mark started, his eyes still wide and mouth parted, "That happened."

"Mhm." Donghyuck hummed, reaching forward for Marks hand and interlacing their fingers, a sweet sound of happiness coming from him as he eyed the string as it shortened. "So, you love me, huh soulmate?"