Mendacity ☠️ yungi [⏹]

12

Mingi's days felt like an incredibly long journey.

Even too long, if he had to emphasize.

This house was always warm, usually. Both literally and in terms of connotation. Adorned with the laughter of children, the affection shown by Leedo, and so on. But since the incident where Leedo punished and tortured Mingi after discovering his spouse in a compromising position with a despicable man whom he did not want to name—almost as if the man were a top supervillain in the Harry Potter series—Leedo sent Jisung and Taeyoung to live in a boarding school.

His two sons didn’t mind. They were good boys who obeyed their father—because of his dominant aura that intimidated everyone. The boys didn’t always obey Mingi because their mother was softer and tended to be lenient, often too soft to scold or punish them—though he had done it once, he felt so incredibly guilty afterward that he never did it again.

Leedo only allowed Mingi to see his children once a month. Under his supervision, of course. Leedo always had full control over what Mingi did. And the children noticed their mother’s belly growing larger with each visit. At the last meeting, Mingi promised that he would introduce them to their baby sister.

Having many enjoyable friends to eat, study, and play with made the boys comfortable staying at the boarding school, even without the need for coercion or threats from their father. The fun could even make them forget their parents. They didn’t miss them too often, despite the separation. That was good. They could focus solely on their academics without being distracted by the sadness of missing their parents.

So why did Leedo have to send Jisung and Taeyoung to the boarding school?

Of course, it was because he could hurt Mingi more freely without having to hurt his beloved sons who had to witness their mother’s suffering.

This house no longer felt like home.

It no longer felt like a place Mingi could return to.

He didn’t understand why, but now he had lost Leedo. The figure was always in front of him, of course. The man brought work home so he could keep an eye on Mingi. Shopping or whatever, now technology had advanced so much that he didn’t need to go out.

So once again, Leedo’s presence was always in front of Mingi. But at the same time, Mingi also felt his absence. And once again, he didn’t understand why. Or maybe he didn’t really not understand. His past actions with Yunho were the trigger. And it made the protective, responsible, authoritative, and adored figure of Leedo go away. It brought out his true self. Mingi missed him.

Mingi and Leedo saw their parents only once a year. Separated by thousands of miles. Leedo asked Mingi to call their parents once a month so they wouldn’t worry about their child. Especially since their parents had been informed that Mingi was now pregnant with their third child, a baby girl that Leedo had been waiting for.

They would also inquire about Mingi, aside from Leedo who always spoke first. Mingi wanted to report, scream for help, and ask to be saved from this dreadful place. But Leedo asked him to say that he was fine, while smiling sweetly at Mingi, who held Leedo’s phone with trembling hands, observing Leedo who watched him closely, very closely, as indicated by the belt Leedo held as a threat.

Their parents asked why Mingi didn’t hold the phone himself like before. And Mingi replied that he didn’t need it anymore. Of course, that wasn’t true. Leedo had smashed Mingi’s phone with a hammer until it was shattered, and burned his laptop to ashes. Mingi couldn’t access any communication tools.

Even if sometimes Leedo had to go out for something, he would lock all the doors. Close all access to the outside world. Lock Mingi inside. Mingi could have tried to escape by breaking a window with a chair or any property, but it would be futile because the gates were too high, and Mingi couldn’t climb them. Especially with a belly larger than a basketball, how would he land safely without a miscarriage?

If he had to call this place a prison, it seemed too light for Mingi. He called it hell. And the torment of hell felt even more painful with the fact that he had not seen Yunho again.

Sitting on the living room sofa, powerless, Mingi winced. He stroked his bulging belly, containing his baby, which made it increasingly difficult for him to move or even breathe. He needed to practice his breathing because the day of his baby’s birth was approaching. He would fulfill his promise to Jisung and Taeyoung that they would soon meet their cute little sister, whom they were eager to protect and play with.

Mingi had been feeling increasingly intense contractions, only once an hour. But Leedo didn’t care. He wouldn’t take his spouse to the hospital until Mingi felt the baby’s head at the birth canal.

Mingi had reached five centimeters dilated without realizing it. The pain in his lower abdomen, back, and waist grew stronger. But the main reason he winced was because Leedo was wiping the corner of Mingi’s mouth with dried blood from the bruise he got after being slapped hard last night.

And Leedo always smiled sweetly at him, a smile that always made Mingi feel intimidated.

Mingi hadn’t started labor yet, but he was already exhausted. He groaned, complained of pain. Then Leedo slapped him again. “Don’t be a brat. You’ve been through this phase twice before. No need to be surprised.”

Yes, but for the births of his two sons, Leedo had always given moral support, soothing motivational words to calm Mingi. Gentle and comforting.

Leedo slid his hand into Mingi’s pants after ordering him to spread his legs. He inserted his dirty, non-sterile fingers to check how far the baby was coming. Mingi moaned, feeling something enter him.

“Only five centimeters dilated. Be patient, dear.” He stroked his spouse’s belly and pressed the lower part. Hard. It was the head, in a ready position. After that, Leedo said he would go to the kitchen to wash his hands and make some milk for Mingi. So he did.

Mingi was alone again. But it was much better than having Leedo here.

“Yunho...”

“DON’T MENTION THAT BASTARD’S NAME OR YOU’LL KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES.” Leedo shouted from the kitchen. Mingi’s faint whisper just now barely competed with the sound of the wind. But Leedo had caught him mentioning Yunho’s name quietly before, and ended up being whipped. So Leedo knew Mingi would always do it if not forbidden.

“How dare you hurt my beautiful Mingi. Do you know? A devil like you doesn’t deserve to be a husband. Also doesn’t deserve an angel like Mingi.”

Leedo’s eyes widened. “You?! How the fuck can you get here?! How dare you!”

“You’ve hurt my lover too much. You’ll know the consequences.” Leedo, who usually threatened, received a similar threat this time. He also got a sneer as a bonus.

Mingi felt a strange sensation when Leedo didn’t return for minutes. He was only making milk, right? Why was it taking so long? He was glad if Leedo didn’t come back, of course. But he was still curious. Should he check the kitchen to find out? Maybe.

So he slowly got up, carefully holding his back. Even a slight movement made his groin area ache.

He tried to straighten up, “Ah!” almost falling. Yes, almost. Because someone caught his arm.

“Be careful, dear, take it slowly. Where are you going?”

This time, Mingi’s eyes widened. It was a low voice he missed so much. “Yunho?!”

“Shhh...” Yunho silenced Mingi with his finger. Whispering, “Don’t be noisy, or your husband will hear.”

“Where’s Leedo?”

“You want to get out of here, right? Come on, I’ll take you away.”

“But Leedo—”

“I’m here now. Isn’t that what you wanted? Why are you still asking about that evil devil?!”