femboy ꒱ nohyuck

꒰ twenty six ꒱

"I don't like that boy."

Donghyuck froze, looking up at his mother in surprise from where he was standing in the doorway, slowly shutting the front door behind him. "Um... what?"

"I said, I don't like that boy. He's not like the usual friends you hang out with, he seems like a bad influence."

"A bad influence? What on earth gave you that impression? He was nothing but polite and respectful the entire time he was here," Donghyuck snapped back. He could tolerate his parents' off handed comments about himself, at least he was used to that, but his mother had another thing coming if she thought he was going to let her say anything bad about Jeno.

"Don't take that tone with me, young man," she said firmly, "didn't you see the way he treated Seohyun? He clearly didn't take her seriously as your girlfriend at all. Do you have any idea how insulting that was to Mr. and Mrs. Kim?"

"Oh my god, mom... I don't take Seohyun seriously as my girlfriend! She's not my girlfriend, so why would Jeno have any incentive to treat her as such when he knows how I feel about her?"

Mrs. Lee looked shocked by her son's outburst, staring down at him in astonishment as he pressed his fingers against his temples and tried his hardest to reel in his temper.

"You better start taking her seriously as your girlfriend, because she is. Me and your father worked very hard to set up this match for you, and you have no idea how lucky you are to have a girl like her."

"Last time I checked, I thought my consent was needed for someone to be my girlfriend," Donghyuck scowled, looking up at his mother fiercely, "I don't like her, mom. I hate being around her, she's annoying and exhausting to deal with. Jeno knows that, because he's my friend, and he was just looking out for me."

"No, Donghyuck, I'm the one looking out for you," his mother seethed, her face turning pink as she got angrier. Normally, this would have scared Donghyuck, but he was so enveloped by his own anger in the moment that he just stared her down, waiting for her to finish, "I'm doing this for you because I care about you, can't you see that? I'm only doing what's best for you."

"What's best for me is to be happy!" Donghyuck said loudly, startling his mother with the sudden volume of his voice. He inhaled sharply, trying to calm himself down a little, before he continued, "you don't care what will make me happy, mom. You'd rather marry me off to some girl that makes me miserable just because you think it will further my social status rather than let me marry somebody that I truly love. At this point, I think the only person who actually cared about me at all at that dinner was Jeno."

His mother stared at him in stunned silence, and Donghyuck let it hang heavy in the air for a moment or two before he sighed and said one last thing to his mother.

"I'm twenty years old, mom. I'm an adult now, and you have no right to tell me who I can or can't be friends with. That boy has been my only source of comfort and happiness during this whole mess, so if you take him away from me, I will never, ever forgive you."

And with that, he pushed past Mrs. Lee and ran up the stairs into his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

┈ ୨ 🎀 ୧ ┈

As soon as Jeno spotted him in the hallway at school, he grabbed the smaller boy's wrist and dragged him behind a corner, into a hallway that no one often visited. Donghyuck blinked, the only thing that could have possibly communicated his surprise, but otherwise just let himself be dragged without any resistance.

"Are you okay?" Jeno asked hurriedly once he was sure they were alone, his voice hushed just in case anyone walked by, "you didn't respond to any of my texts. Is something wrong?"

"I'm okay, Jeno," Donghyuck smiled weakly, feeling that familiar lovesick feeling wash over him under Jeno's concerned gaze, "I got into a big fight with my mom after you left. I was just feeling a little down about it."

"A fight? About what?" Jeno asked, carefully bringing Donghyuck closer and examining his face, clearly trying to read his emotions.

"She... she said she doesn't like you, she doesn't want me being friends with you anymore. And I got mad and told her she can't tell me who I can and can't be friends with and... yeah," the blonde mumbled a bit sheepishly, staring down at his feet.

"Oh Hyuck... I'm sorry, I feel bad that you got in trouble because of me," Jeno sighed, and Donghyuck quickly looked up at him and firmly shook his head.

"No, Jeno, it wasn't your fault, not at all. You were super likable and charming at dinner, she only doesn't like you because you stood up for me and didn't talk to Seohyun like she was my girlfriend."

"Ugh, really? That's the reason she doesn't like me?" The black haired boy's nose wrinkled as he stared at Donghyuck in disbelief, "that's ridiculous, your mom sounds insane."

Despite himself, Donghyuck couldn't help but giggle a little, nodding along with Jeno's words. He had to admit, it felt nice to have his feelings about his mom validated by someone else, especially someone who he liked and respected so much.

"You sure you're okay? Is there anything I can do to help?" Jeno hummed, sliding his hand into Donghyuck's smaller one and squeezing it gently, "should I stop texting you or something so you don't get into more trouble?"

"No, please don't stop texting me," Donghyuck blurted before he could fully think about the implications of it, and his face immediately burned bright red as he realized what he just said. He coughed, clearing his throat a little before continuing, "I mean, um... you don't have to do anything, I can handle it on my own."

"Don't worry, I won't stop texting you if you like it that much," Jeno smirked, looking annoyingly smug and attractive, before pressing a small kiss against the corner of his mouth. After thoroughly enjoying Donghyuck's flustered reaction, he then lowered his voice into something more soft and sincere, "seriously, though, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

"Yeah... y-yeah whatever, let's just go," Donghyuck spluttered, his heart pounding as he turned and started walking away. He tried his best to ignore Jeno's laughter as he quickly trailed behind him, as well as the small, stupidly-in-love smile that spread across his own face in response.