3

hapter 4

Mark sighed and looked away from the younger boy. He didn't want to discuss anything about their relationship, especially after what he had said yesterday to Jeno. But as he didn't know what to say either, he remained silent.

A few seconds later, Jaehyun cleared his throat and said: "Listen, I know that you have a pretty sensitive heart, and that's okay. However, I just want you to know that what I said yesterday didn't mean that I don't think of you as a friend. You know that you're one of my best friends, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry that I was rude to you… it just happened that I was upset and I snapped at you unintentionally. I don't know why, but you made me feel so comfortable and warm and I didn't want you to leave."

"It's okay… I understand." Jaehyun approached Mark slowly and said: "Are you mad at me?"

"No. Not at all." Mark looked at Jaehyun and shook his head.

"Good. Now… Let's play together."

"Okay, let's start playing."

They started playing their parts together, but Mark stopped after he was done singing. Jaehyun frowned.

"Why did you stop? Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine. I guess I got tired of doing that part."

"So what happened with this line?" Jaehyun asked.

Mark stood up and said: "I'm just gonna get a water now." As soon as Mark was gone Jaehyun began to play his part and sing, but the moment his song was over, he was surprised by Mark's sudden appearance.

"I forgot that you're deaf and mute… How can you make noises when you just move your vocal cords like that?!" Jaehyun stated.

"My brother taught me to speak using sign language, or ASL. I learned to be able to speak in it a couple of days ago so I wouldn't have to wait for you guys to finish singing and telling me what you meant."

"Really?! That's great!"

"Yeah, it is. I wish I could do it for you guys so you wouldn't need to be afraid."

"Wait, I haven't introduced you properly to my brother yet! Mark, this is my brother, Taeyong, he goes by Taeyong."

Taeyong greeted Mark with a smile, and the blonde bowed his head respectfully in return. "Nice to meet you."

"And this is my sister, Doyoung."

Doyoung smiled brightly at Mark and gave him a small wave, which he responded to kindly with a nod of his head.

"Come on, let's go to the kitchen. There's someone here who would like to talk to you."

Jaehyun led Mark to the kitchen where Taeyong, who was sitting in his usual spot, was waiting for Mark to arrive. When the blonde entered the room, he nodded towards Mark and smiled at him.

After that, they started talking to each other, and eventually Mark and Jaehyun joined them at the table. Soon they were having lunch together.

When they had finished eating, the five boys headed back to Mark's house, while Doyoung and Taeyong stayed at their own homes, leaving the two young boys alone.

Mark and Jaehyun played around on Mark's bedroom floor while Taeyong watched them with amusement, but soon the latter excused himself and said that he needed to get ready for dinner. After that, the three boys continued their game of hide-and-seek in Mark's bedroom, but they eventually discovered each other because of their heightened senses.

While Mark and Jaehyun hid, Taeyong was lying on the ground pretending to sleep, and Doyoung was hiding beneath a piece of furniture. Suddenly, the boys heard movement above them. They were shocked and quickly hid underneath a bed as well, but when nothing strange happened, they decided to leave and investigate.

After searching every inch of the room thoroughly, they concluded that they couldn't find any suspicious places in the entire house. So they went downstairs and talked about what they had found, only for Mark to realize that he had forgotten about something important.

"Ah, I remember now! I promised my mom that I would clean the kitchen today."

"What are we supposed to do until then?" Taeyong raised an eyebrow curiously.

Before Mark could respond, Jaehyun suggested: "We could just watch TV for a bit! We've been spending so many hours together recently, we should get used to being together in a way that isn't limited by our schedules…"

"…That sounds good to me." Mark agreed and both Jaehyun and Taeyong grinned in response.

After dinner, Jaehyun suggested that they watch TV first while Mark cleaned the kitchen, then they would probably decide whether to watch TV or not. Once both of them were settled onto the couch, Jaehyun turned on the TV while Taeyong picked the movie that was playing on the screen.

The four of them were seated comfortably on the couch and watching a movie together. During the first half hour of the movie, Mark tried to concentrate on the story that was unfolding, but as soon as he heard the music coming from the TV, he couldn't help but stare intently at the screen, taking in every single detail of the action scene. It was like a spell had been put on him, and he felt as if the whole world had faded away around him, leaving him completely lost in his thoughts. At some point, Jaehyun nudged him slightly and said: "Do you want me to turn the volume down a little?"

For some reason, Mark was unable to respond or even move a muscle. His eyes widened in shock, and the feeling of fear spread through him again. Then, suddenly, he felt a hand touch his arm and a familiar voice calling his name: "Mark?"

He turned his head to see Jaehyun staring at him with a worried expression, and without thinking twice, he grabbed the hand holding his arm and squeezed it lightly, hoping that Jaehyun would understand how he was feeling and that he understood the gesture.

Jaehyun's eyes sparkled and he said: "Did you feel that, Taeyong? I think he likes me, but I don't know how to interpret his actions…"

Taeyong chuckled softly and replied: "Yeah, he does like you, Jae, but I don' think he knows how to express it. I'm sure that he'll tell you how he feels sometime, so you just have to give him time. Just be patient with him," he explained.

Then Taeyong turned his gaze back at Mark and smiled gently. Mark returned the smile and closed his eyes briefly as he continued to hold Jaehyun's hand tightly. After a while he opened his eyes and glanced at Jaehyun before looking at Taeyong, nodding his head slowly.

"Okay… I'll give him time."

Chapter 5

Three weeks passed since Mark's incident with the boy named Jaehyun, and ever since then they had spent every day together. Sometimes they would spend time watching television together, other times they would hang out with the others or just spend time by themselves, or they would just talk. Mark's parents also began to notice how close the two boys became to one another, and whenever they saw how inseparable the two of them were from each other, they were very happy that the two of them seemed to become closer to one another than they already were.

Jaehyun and Mark were hanging out inside Mark's room when they heard footsteps approaching them from downstairs.

"Is someone there?" A voice called out.

"Yes, we are here!" Jaehyun replied.

Mark's mother entered the room and walked towards the two boys. She smiled when she noticed Mark and Jaehyun.

"I thought that I'd find you two here."

"Hi, Mrs. Lee. What's going on?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you two some questions, since we just moved in a few days ago."

"Sure! What do you wanna know?"

"How did you two met?"

"I met him at the library when I was studying."

"And how long have you known each other?"

"Since we moved into our new place. He came over almost everyday after school and we hung out every afternoon."

"Have you guys kissed each other?"

"What!? No!"

"Have you guys slept together?"

"Mom!!! Why are you asking these kinds of things!?"

"Because you two are cute. Don't get mad at me, Mark. You've been acting awfully quiet lately. Do you mind telling us why?"

Mark stared at his mother with wide eyes and he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Nothing."

Mrs. Lee raised her eyebrows in surprise and said: "Oh, really? Well, if you're sure."

"Yes. I'm sure."

"Okay… so