THE LITTLE COPY ⋮ markhyuck

Chapter 𝟰𝟰

Throughout the evening with Mina and Minju, which was fun and full of laughter that most problems were long forgotten, Donghyuck's thoughts kept coming back to one thing. How to tell Dongchan?

Donghyuck thought about it through the night and shared his troubles with Mark since it was a mutual problem. Dongchan was gaming when the two came to the kitchen and discussed the matter. They came up with the same concern—introducing Dongchan to reality wasn't an easy task. Donghyuck had told the kid many times that his daddy was far away, and it'd be hard for them to meet. Such a lie already turned the situation sticky. But there was more why reality was hard to reach. And it was because Mark came into the boy's life as a teacher, not a parent, so it would be a shock to know more out of the blue. But lying wasn't the most pleasing option either. They'd have to tell him one day, and the best time had to be when he was still a kid.

The good thing about this was that Donghyuck had already started building the right path that would lead them to the truth. On Friday, he told Dongchan they knew each other before, and from there, it was a little easier to twist it to how it actually was. But no matter who would tell it, Mark or Donghyuck, their son would obviously feel confused and left out. He wouldn't like it that there was a secret kept from him. So, for that to work better, Donghyuck got a plan on his own that he didn't tell Mark on purpose.

"Channie, can I tell you a secret?" he asked softly as he brushed the kid's wet hair. He just showered.

They were comfortably seated on the sofa and watched the news, which was muted the moment Donghyuck asked this question. Mark wasn't present at that time—he went grocery shopping alone, so it was the perfect time, in Donghyuck's opinion.

"Yes, Papa," the kid said excitedly, moving his eyes away from the TV screen and even turning around a little.

He loved secrets.

"Remember when I told you I knew Mark before?" receiving a nod from his son, Donghyuck went on. "Well, there was a reason I didn't tell you, baby."

"Why?" Dongchan voiced the question just as the parent planned.

When he did so, it was easier for Donghyuck to talk further.

"When I met Mark, the passion, love, and everything similar got into me so suddenly... And you know what happens when love gets involved. Two people kiss," Donghyuck smiled shyly. "So, Papa once kissed Teacher Lee when he wasn't a teacher yet!"

Dongchan's eyes widened. No way, they said. It must've been hard for him to believe that once Mark was someone else, not a teacher.

"We made lots of love, and you know what making love means? It means we kissed a lot!" Donghyuck said as innocently as possible, although the reality was way different. "Unfortunately, we got separated. Mark graduated from university, and despite thinking of me, he couldn't reach me."

"Oh no... You didn't have phones," Dongchan gasped.

"We did, but we didn't know each other's phone numbers," Donghyuck chuckled, feeling a little offended that his own son thought he had no phone as an adult when he wasn't that old not to have one. "Anyway, our love... just as fast as it happened, it disappeared as quickly, too. But the memories and the traces of it remained. Do you know why?"

His son shook his head. He really had no clue.

"Because Dongchan was born," Donghyuck announced, then smiled as he looked at Dongchan to capture his reaction.

At the same time, he glanced at the TV, or more precisely, at the phone he had placed to record the reaction since Mark wouldn't be able to witness it as he had another role to play. Anyway, Dongchan's reaction was priceless. As a kid with dyslexia, he was great at understanding words that weren't put directly. He frowned the first two seconds, but then his eyes widened as the meaning unfolded.