FOR THE FUTURE ⋮ nohyuck/markhyuck/markhyuckno

Chapter Four

Donghyuck didn't want to bother Renjun anymore, so he started packing his things the next day. To move out faster, he skipped a class as he didn't want to see Jaemin. Recalling what happened yesterday, Donghyuck wanted to go to bed, curl into a ball and fall into an eternal sleep.

He felt depressed and unmotivated but didn't stop even for a second. His head was full of thoughts, and all of them were related to regret and self-doubt. What irritated Donghyuck more was when he realized that the price of this unreal mission was his friendship. So what if he confronted Mark and got a positive answer? He just lost two friends. He feared finding out what would happen when he told Jeno.

"Papa! Why aren't you answering me?" Noram whined, pulling on Donghyuck's sleeve.

"I'm tired, bud."

"You sound like Papa from my time! But you're too young to be like this."

Noram's comment lit up a smile on Donghyuck's face.

"Guess I got old just in a few weeks. What a hard life..."

"You should smile more! We're so close."

"Nothing's close, Noram. It'll be an eternity, full of suffering."

"Don't say that!" the kid screamed. "I don't like this Papa!"

Noram ran to the bathroom, locked himself in, and started crying. Donghyuck stopped packing their clothes and let out the heaviest sigh.

"Such a drama queen. As if he inherited this feature from one and only Mark."

Donghyuck continued stuffing Noram's bag with his clothes, without even feeling that he was ignoring the kid and punishing him for being a crybaby. Like, a normal parent would've gone to the door and asked a kid to come out. But... Donghyuck wasn't a parent yet. He was too immature in this whole thing.

Perhaps, Noram realized it too, as he came out after eight minutes and walked to his Papa with no complaints. Together they finished packing, and Donghyuck called Jeno to pick them up. Jeno was surprised to hear this but didn't ask any questions as it was obvious something had happened.

🕚

"I shouldn't have said anything," Jeno groaned in distress.

They sat in the park and watched how Noram communicated with other kids. And he was quite good at it. It seemed like Noram was an extrovert type, who got along with everyone, although he did look awkward at times.

Donghyuck felt lost in time, but it had to be around 2 PM as the park had many moms with strollers and squeaky-voiced kids scattering. He had already taken all of his stuff to his dorm, thanks to Jeno, and could sit there and do nothing.

"No, you did great. At least there are no secrets anymore," Donghyuck grimaced.

"I ruined your friendship."

"I ruined our friendship. I agreed to see you when I knew Jaemin liked you."

"I pressured you."

"It doesn't matter anymore."

The silence between them occurred, and it reminded Donghyuck about the responsibilities. Especially when wherever he turned, he saw his future son and a possible father.

"After all this happened, what do you think about secrets?" he asked indirectly.

"Secrets?" Jeno sighed. "They ruin relationships, especially if kept a secret for too long. Well, at least make it so things can't be the same. It's like a poorly made building with a flooded basement. You can try to fix it, but it'll take time. The same with people and relationships."