Chapter 11

                                    

                                          
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Donghyuck and Mark were coming down the stairs after Donghyuck changed into something he deemed more appropriate to meet his 'boyfriends' family when Mark suddenly took his hand in his, stopping Donghyuck mid-step.
"What is it?" Donghyuck asked, turning around to look at him.
"Just..." Mark said and then sighed, "My family is very affectionate and very-"
"I'm sure they're great, Mark," Donghyuck told him with a smile, heart beating slightly faster at how much Mark cared for him.
"If at any time you're uncomfortable-" Mark started to say but Donghyuck cut him off again.
"You're right here next to me," he told him, "I'm going to be fine."
"You sure?" Mark asked.
"I'm going to show them that I'm the best damn boyfriend in the world," Donghyuck announced proudly.
Mark felt this warmth radiate from this chest that he couldn't quite pinpoint the cause of but suddenly a huge grin appeared on his face and he couldn't get it off.
"Let's get this show on the road."
Mark intertwined their fingers together and lead Donghyuck to the backyard, opening the door with a cheery, "Hello family!"
A chorus of 'Mark!' and 'Hey, Mark!' broke out as his family greeted him with open arms and smiles.
Donghyuck felt out of place like he didn't belong here. He didn't know what it felt to be a part of a family ever since his dad died and if he was being honest, he didn't feel like he deserved it either. Donghyuck felt like he was intruding on this family and he hasn't even met them yet.
"Hey, you okay?" Mark said, noticing how uncomfortable Donghyuck was.
"What?" Donghyuck said, breaking out of his thoughts, "Yeah. I'm good."
"I can always take you back inside if you don't want to-" Mark started to say but Donghyuck shook his head.
"I'm alright," he told Mark with a small smile, "Go reunite with your family! They really missed you."
"Come on, I'll introduce you," Mark said.
"No, no it's fine," Donghyuck said shaking his head, "I don't want to impose."
"You're my 'boyfriend', remember?" Mark told him, "You're going to be family to them too."
Donghyuck ignored how his heart fluttered at that and smiled at Mark, a red tint appearing on his face. Mark didn't let go of Donghyuck's hand as he took him around the backyard introducing him proudly as his 'boyfriend' to his family.
"And this is the bride and groom. My cousin Hendery and his lovely fiancee, soon to be husband, tomorrow, YangYang." Mark said, hand still intertwined in his as he introduced Donghyuck, "And this is my boyfriend, Donghyuck."
"Congratulations!" Was the first thing Donghyuck said, "It's lovely to meet you."
"And you too, Donghyuck," YangYang greeted with a polite smile, taking a sip from the glass of wine he had in his hand, the diamond ring reflecting the light.
"Your ring is absolutely gorgeous," Donghyuck complimented genuinely, not being able to take his eyes off it.
"Thank you so much," YangYang said with a grin, holding out his hand for Donghyuck to inspect further.
"Maybe you'll get one too, Donghyuck," Hendery teased, making Mark stiffen up.
"You've had one too many, Hendery," Mark said through gritted teeth, "Maybe you should slow down."
"I was just playing," Hendery said amused, holding his hands up in surrender.
Donghyuck let YangYang's hand go, settling back next to Mark unconsciously. Mark intertwined their fingers again.
"Remember when we were in that stage, babe?" Hendery cooed at Yangyang.
"What?" Mark asked, cocking his eyebrows.
"You know the whole touchy-feely stage where you can't keep your hands off one another," Yangyang said, cocking his head to their hands, "You need to have physical contact all the time."
Mark immediately let Donghyuck's hand go and unconsciously took a step away from him as if he had something to prove. Donghyuck didn't want to admit to himself how cold his hand suddenly felt without Mark's in it and how the feeling of calm he had dissipated into thin air.
"Like that's going to prove anything, Mark," Hendery scoffed, laughing at him.
"We're -" Mark started to say but quickly caught his tongue.
"In a new relationship," YangYang said before pushing Henderson, "Stop teasing him! Can't you see he's embarrassed."
"Yeah, Hendery! You dickhead!" Mark said, stepping closer to Donghyuck, "You're giving Haechan-ie a bad impression of our family."
"We're a lot nicer than this, Donghyuck," YangYang said, putting a reassuring hand over Donghyuck's shoulder, "We promise."
"No, no," Donghyuck was quick to reassure him, "This is quite cute actually."
"Is your family like this too?" YangYang asked with a polite smile.
Donghyuck looked at the floor, not sure what to say or how to tell YangYang that he doesn't really have a relationship with his extended family and what relationship he has with his immediate family is complicated and messy and painful to talk about.
Donghyuck felt Mark's arm snake around his waist, pulling him closer to him. He looked up at Mark and he gave Donghyuck a reassuring smile. Mark promised Donghyuck that he would be there for him, right by his side.
"I'm annoying enough, aren't I, love?" Mark said.
"Too much to handle at times," Donghyuck said, smiling thankfully at him.
"Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the family," Mark said, cueing that they had to go.
"It was really nice to meet you," Donghyuck said politely, "Congratulations again!"
"You okay?" Mark said once they were out of earshot of the couple.
Donghyuck nodded, "Thank you for that."
'I know your family is kind of a touchy subject," He said, "This is why we need a codeword."
"How was I supposed to bring up the word potato in that context, Mark?!" Donghyuck said, giggling, running a hand through his hair.
Donghyuck's laugh was like music to Mark's ears and immediately made him smile his toothy smile.
"At least you're smiling," Mark found himself saying, not knowing where that came from.
Donghyuck's giggle stopped as he looked at Mark, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, "Thank you for being there."
"I promised that I would."
"Mark Lee keeping promises..." Donghyuck said, "Who would've known?"
"Stick with me, love, and I'll show you other stuff too," Mark said with a wink.
Donghyuck pushed his shoulder playfully, "Gross."
"I didn't mean it in a dirty way, you pervert!" Mark joked. 





Not Edited
Saturday, September 14, 2019





"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."
― Mae West