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When they were both trainees, Haechan had kissed Mark out of nowhere, which led to a huge fight. After that, Haechan started pulling Mark in then pushing him away—not because he wanted to, but because he was terrified of crossing Mark’s boundaries again. But that only created another misunderstanding: Mark felt hurt and confused, and eventually started ignoring him.
Even with all of that, everyone knew they were the strongest duo. The misunderstanding didn’t change the fact that they naturally gravitated toward each other. They stayed close—close enough that Mark ended up choosing Haechan as a feature for his first solo album.
But Haechan didn’t accept freely.
He saw one chance to make Mark “do something for him,” so he agreed on one condition:
a kiss from Mark.
Mark laughed it off, pretending Haechan was joking, but they both knew the tan boy was dead serious—he just hid it behind a laugh.
After Mark’s album came out, Haechan would casually bring up the “condition” from time to time. Always in a joking tone. Always enough to make Mark frustrated. Yet neither of them did anything about it.
Until one day.
After a busy schedule, they were sitting in the car—just the two of them—while the manager stepped out for a few minutes. One comment led to another, and Haechan brought up the kiss again.
“Haechan, if you keep bringing it up I’ll think you actually want that kiss.” Mark said quietly, staring at anything but Haechan.
“Hyung… if I say I do, would you actually do it?”
Haechan’s voice was steady, serious.
Mark whipped his head around so fast it surprised even him. He tried to read Haechan’s eyes—looking for a tease—but saw nothing except hesitation. And dread ?
Mark didn’t know where his confidence came from, but seeing Haechan like that… he leaned in.
“On the cheek, right?”
Haechan could feel Mark’s breath on his skin. As much as he wanted more, he didn’t dare cross that line. Getting a kiss on the cheek was already too much for Mark he thought —he just nodded.
Mark hesitated for a second before leaning in. Right then before Haechan could feel Mark’s lips on his cheek, the manager opened the car’s door.
Both pulled away instantly and looked in different directions, followed by an awakward silence
The manager froze.
“Don’t tell me you guys just had a fight!” he asked dramatically, sensing the heavy silence.
“We did not!”
Mark and Haechan shouted annoyed at the same time, so fast it made the manager raise an eyebrow but brushed if off. Then… just like that after some time… Markhyuck fell back into being themselves again. Neither of them bringing up the kiss again.
A few months passed and it was Haechan’s turn to release his album. Since he refused most variety show promotions, the staff told him they’d film a small camping show and asked which member he wanted with him.
Haechan being himself didn’t even hesitate.
“Mark.”
Filming came and went. They had fun—swimming, eating, listening to Haechan’s album from start to finish. It was Haechan’s favorite part. He loved watching Mark’s reactions. He felt proud. He knew Mark understood him deeper than most people.
The moment that replayed in Haechan’s mind nonstop was when they talked about being soulmates. Mark said the word “soulmate” felt too big, too heavy to define them. The conversation somehow shifted into Mark admitting he felt left out when they were younger—how Haechan wasn’t consistent with his clinginess, how it hurt him.
Haechan...he laughed it off, joked that Mark had a crush on him, and called himself a weirdo from trainee days, and explained how even himself didn’t understand why he acted that way back then.
But the truth—the real truth—was that Haechan had been scared. Scared of upsetting Mark again. So the only “logical” thing his younger self could think of was: one day clingy, one day distant. Close enough to show affection, distant enough not to cross a line.
Mark, on the other hand, got tired of the inconsistency. It overwhelmed him. So he started ignoring Haechan, trying to keep distance. Even if sometimes he didn’t have enough conviction… and ended up giving in to Haechan’s attention again.
Now they were in the practice room, preparing for DREAM’s November comeback. Practicing while being on tour was exhausting. They complained, but they still enjoyed being together.
Their dynamic was still the same—push and pull.
But this time, something felt heavier to Haechan. Less comfortable.
And Mark felt it too, even if he denied it.
Their little “fight” didn’t help—the one where Mark ignored Haechan’s dinner invitation.
“Okay everyone, cars are ready, gather downstairs in five,” the manager announced before leaving the room.
Mark was quiet—exhaustion dragging down every movement. Everyone packed up quickly and left. Mark stayed behind to collect a few things. When he finally turned toward the door, he froze.
Haechan was waiting for him.
“Hyung… are you alright?” he asked softly.
“Yeah. Just sleepy.”
“You can sleep in the car on the way back.” he replied as he turned around, ready to leave. Mark quickly caught up to him. He saw the chance to talk to him alone, so he reached out and held his arm to stop him. “Haechan, you sure we’re good ?” he asked hesitantely.
“Yeah why you asking ?” Haechan answered.
“I feel like you’re avoiding me, are you still mad about the dinner ?” Mark explained
“Meeelt” Haechan called jokingly “You know we already made up, you’re talking about the 85% ? you know me, i was just fooling around” Haechan played it off as he couldn’t explain that yeah he’s avoiding him but it’s beacause of their “soulmate” conversation.
Mark could sense Haechan wasn’t being honest, but he didn’t push. He knew Haechan wasn’t ready for that kind of conversation.
“Then stick close to me, don’t be distant with me” Mark said out of nowhere as they walked downstairs.
“Hyung, you know you’re being clingy right ?” Haechan joked around ignoring his heart beating fast.
“Yeah i see no problem in that, and Tomorrow, wear warm clothes—it’s gonna be cold,” Mark replied as they neared their cars.
“Good night melt” Haechan said.
Mark just waved and both got into their separate cars.
________________________________________
The next morning at the airport when everyone met, Mark noticed haechan’s taste tshirt and Haechan sensing someone watching him he looked around to find Mark staring at him he naturally gravitated to him.
“So what do you think ?” Haechan said teasingly, tugging on the hem of his shirt.
Mark blinked. “About what?”
“My outfit !” Haechan exclaimed dramatically
Mark scoffed, trying to hide the tiny smile forming on his lips.
“You look… normal.”
“Normal?” Haechan gasped. “I’m literally promoting my own album right now.”
“with your usual shorts. And slippers,” Mark added.
“Comfort over everything,” Haechan said proudly, lifting one foot like it was a fashion exhibit.
Mark shook his head, amused. As they walked toward the check-in area, their manager called the members to group up.
Mark walked first with the other memebers behind yet kept turning around to check where Haechan to find him on his phone doing whatever.
“You didn’t listen” Mark stated as they took their usual seats on the plane next to each other.
“What do you mean ?” Haechan asked.
“To… staying close.”
Haechan finally sitting down with a smirk on his face, “I’m sticking to you right now clingy hyung”
Mark rolled his eyes at the new nickname.
A few weeks passed, and as They were filming content for promotions of their Beat it up comeback, everyone had fun with the “brain map” segment—guessing and drawing what they thought each other’s brain looked like.
Everyone burst out laughing when Haechan revealed the biggest part of his brain was “Mark,” which the members guessed instantly. Same way Jeno jokingly put himself in Jaemin’s brain. Both were painfully obvious.
But after filming ended, Haechan had only one thing on his mind:
the conversation about their first kiss.
It had been a joking moment, but Mark said something that kept replaying in Haechan’s head again:
“I don’t know if he did that to tease me, or if he did it out of nowhere.”
He didn’t know how to answer at the time, so he had just laughed it off again...
Sitting in the practice room the next day, waiting for everyone to get ready, he spotted Mark alone on the couch—lost in thought.
So he walked straight to him, hoping to distract Mark… and maybe himself too.
“Meelt, what are you doing?” Haechan said as he casually started playing with Mark’s messy hair.
Mark didn’t answer—he just closed his eyes.
Haechan froze for a second. He didn’t expect Mark to let him do that.
“Are you okay, hyung?” he asked softly, his hand still in Mark’s hair.
“Yeah. Just really tired. Barely slept last night,” Mark mumbled.
“Why? Did something happen?”
Mark didn’t reply. He opened his eyes and stared directly at Haechan—so intensely that Haechan immediately pulled his hand away, as if he’d crossed a line.
Mark looked confused, ready to ask something, but their dance teacher walked in and everyone started gathering.
“Let’s go, hyung. We’ll talk about it later,” Haechan said quickly before slipping away.
________________________________________
Practice went great. Despite the exhaustion, they still had fun as a group.
At the end of the day, while everyone grabbed their stuff, Mark told his manager he wasn’t going with him—he was sleeping at Haechan’s.
Haechan whipped his head around, wide-eyed.
“When did we plan that?”
“We need to talk” Mark said simply. “So we’ll talk at your place.”
“You don’t want me to?” Mark added quietly, almost insecure.
“No! Of course you can,” Haechan said quickly—way too excited for his own good. He grabbed his bag, trying to hide his smile.
In the elevator, he couldn’t stop smiling anyway. Just the thought of Mark spending the night made him weirdly happy. He pulled out his phone and leaned into Mark.
“Hyung, what do you want for dinner?” he asked, scrolling through the food app.
Mark leaned in too, placing his hand over Haechan’s to scroll with him. Haechan’s heart jumped, and he pulled away without thinking.
Mark looked confused… and a little hurt.
The ride home was nice—they talked about year-end events, the comeback, Haechan’s solo album again. But once they stepped into Haechan’s apartment, a familiar yet awkward tension settled.
“You can put this on,” Haechan said as he handed Mark a new pair of pajamas he had just bought.
Mark thanked him, went to the spare room, showered, and changed.
Haechan finished earlier and curled up on the couch, waiting for him and for the food to arrive.
When Mark walked back into the living room, he found Haechan half-asleep on the couch.
“You tired?” Mark asked, settling next to him.
Haechan hummed, then slowly shifted—resting his head on Mark’s lap.
Mark stiffened at first, then relaxed into it.
“When do you think the food will get here?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Maybe ten minutes,” Haechan said softly.
Without thinking, Mark slipped his hand into Haechan’s hair and started playing with it but as soon as he did that Haechan’s eyes flew open and sat up instantly, brushing his clothes nervously.
“Dude, what’s up with you?” Mark snapped, frustrated, standing too.
“Whaaat do you mean?” Haechan backed away a few steps.
“You know exactly what I mean. Since when do you pull away from me like this? Are you mad? Did I do something?”
“No, hyung… we’re good. I just—”
“Then what is it? Why do you keep pulling away whenever I get close? This is why I said we need to talk.”
“I didn’t want to cross the line and make you uncomfortable again...” Haechan whispered.
“What are you talking about ?” Mark asked confused.
“Hyung...Do you really think that time I kissed you was just to tease you?”
Mark froze.
He expected literally anything coming out of Haechan’s mouth but this. Even something about aliens would've made more sense.
Before Mark could respond, Haechan continued, voice firm:
“It wasn’t. That’s not why I kissed you.”
Mark swallowed, finally grounding himself.
“Okay… but what does that have to do with you acting like I’m fire and you can’t get near me?”
“Mark, you say that like you don’t pull away too when I get close,” Haechan shot back weakly. And he wasn’t wrong.
“You know why I do that,” Mark said quietly.
“Because I’m clingy? Always in your space? I know—it’s annoying and it makes you uncomfortable”
“No,” Mark said, serious. “Because you’re not consistent. You’re clingy, then not clingy. And I don’t like it.”
That made Haechan go still.
“I want you to be close. Always,” Mark admitted. “Not just when you feel like it.”
“Hyung… what if I cross the line ? what if i do something again that you won’t like?” Haechan muttered.
“Look… whatever happened back then—we were kids. I can’t change how I reacted. It was sudden and it was my fir—” Mark stopped himself, “—Anyway. We’re grown now. If something happens that we don’t like, we can talk about it.”
As Mark spoke, he slowly stepped closer without realizing but Haechan definitely noticed.
And once Mark was close enough for him to feel his breath, he froze.
“So stop pushing me away,” Mark said quietly.
“I could say the same to you,” Haechan whispered, looking anywhere but Mark’s eyes.
“I won’t—if you stop with the push and pull,” Mark murmured, leaning in.
“Do we have a deal?”
Clearing his throat, Haechan moved back a little.
“Yes, yes, we have a deal. No need to come so close.”
Mark snorted and closed the distance again.
“This is exactly why we’re having this conversation.”
“Melt,” Haechan warned, placing a hand on Mark’s chest to push him back.
Mark covered Haechan’s hand with his own, eyes locked on him. They stayed like that for what felt like forever.
Haechan’s gaze flickered down to Mark’s lips.
Mark stiffened, but didn’t move away.
Haechan leaned in—testing him.
Mark leaned too.
And right then—
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
They jolted apart, breathless.
Haechan practically ran to the door to grab the food
________________________________________
After dinner, Mark and Haechan naturally slipped back into themselves—bickering, teasing, laughing like nothing had ever been wrong.
But something had changed.
Haechan was clingy again, comfortably so. And Mark didn’t pull away even once.
They played games, sang together, talked until their voices softened with exhaustion. Somehow, without noticing when or how, they ended up in Haechan’s room, lying side by side, talking about their careers… the future of the group.
“I bet you’ll feel lonely when I enlist,” Haechan said teasingly.
“I’m sure you’re gonna cry,” he added.
“Yeah, right,” Mark replied. “More like it’ll be the most peaceful two years of my life before you come back.”
Haechan scoffed and shuffled closer.
“Sure. I’m positive you’ll be wishing those two years go by really fast.”
“I’ll pray for that every day,” Mark answered sleepily.
That shut Haechan up completely.
“Melt,” he said quietly.
“Mmm?” Mark hummed, yawning.
“I have a confession.”
“Haechaaan,” Mark groaned jokingly. “What did you do now?”
Haechan stayed silent, hesitating. Should I say it… or keep it to myself?
Before he could decide, he noticed Mark pulling the covers up and getting comfortable.
“You’re sleeping here?” Haechan asked, surprised.
“Yeah. Can’t I?” Mark replied lazily.
“No— I mean, you can. You can,” Haechan rushed out.
He slipped under the covers too, turning onto his side, overwhelmed by everything that had happened today… yet far too excited to be sharing a bed with Mark.
A moment later, he felt movement behind him.
Mark wasn’t touching him—but he was close enough that Haechan could feel his breath against the back of his neck.
“So,” Mark whispered near his ear, his hand finally settling on Haechan’s waist,
“what was that confession?”
Haechan froze.
Mark had never been this touchy with him before.
What was happening?
“Hyung…” Haechan murmured softly.
He figured Mark was half-asleep anyway—probably wouldn’t even remember this conversation tomorrow.
“I just wanted you to know… that if we were kids again, back in that practice room… I’d cross that line again.”
“What do you mean?” Mark mumbled, his voice low and close.
“I mean,” Haechan swallowed, “I would kiss you again. Even if you reacted the same way you did back then.”
Silence followed.
Minutes passed.
Haechan assumed Mark had fallen asleep—his breathing slow and steady so he turned around to look at him, not expecting to find Mark still awake.
Haechan’s breath hitched. “Why didn’t you say something?” Haechan asked softly. Their faces were far too close, but that wasn’t what he was thinking about. He was worried, studying Mark’s expression.
“I—” Mark started, then stopped.
“I’m sorry, maybe that was something I should’ve kept to myself…” Haechan said, looking down.
“So,” Mark asked suddenly, “if you could kiss me now… would you?”
Haechan snapped his head up.
“What?”
“If you could kiss me now,” Mark repeated, “would you do it?”
“I— I don’t know,” Haechan stuttered.
They stared at each other, time stretching unbearably.
Haechan sat up, and Mark followed clearing his throat.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable ag—” Haechan began, already moving to get out of bed.
Mark grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“Don’t go,” he whispered.
They froze again, eyes locked.
Mark’s gaze flickered down—to Haechan’s lips before he looked back into his eyes for a long moment… then started leaning in.
Just before their lips touched, Mark froze.
Haechan closed his eyes with a quiet sigh—but before he could pull away, Mark’s hand slid to the back of Haechan’s neck, warm and steady, holding him there as their lips finally touched. The kiss was soft at first, almost careful, like they were afraid the moment would disappear if they moved too fast.
Haechan realized then that while he remembered Mark’s anger after that first kiss years ago, he didn’t remember the feeling of Mark’s lips.
Only that he had wanted more—and thought he never could.
Kissing him now felt like craving something your whole life… and finally having it.
They pulled apart slowly, foreheads nearly touching.
Haechan was scared to look up — scared he’d see regret.
Instead, Mark gently lifted his chin, forcing him to meet his eyes.
There was no hesitation there. Just warmth. And a soft smile — those familiar boba eyes crinkling slightly.
That was all the reassurance Haechan needed.
He leaned in again, this time without doubt, without fear — and kissed him like he wasn’t going to pull away anymore.