long live the king - nct, markhyuck

♕ 13 ♕

"where were you yesterday night?"

these definitely weren't the first words donghyuck imagined he would be hearing right after opening his eyes. and more precisely, these were the exact words he was wishing to avoid considering how the previous night had been for him – even more if they came from his father, which they did.

"s-sorry...?" the tanned male mumbled, sitting up on his mattress as he rubbed his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the luminosity in the room and fall on his father, sitting on a wodden chair a few feet away from his mattress, staring right at the younger boy.

"you came back late." the man declared. "later than usual."

"huh..."

"where were you?" the father repeated his question, his eyes never leaving donghyuck.

donghyuck gulped down the lump that had started forming in his throat, flashes of the previous night appearing in front of his eyes as he tried to come up with the most believable lie.

"i-i was working at the restaurant." he stuttered, hoping with all of his heart that the ladies he usually worked with had covered him and that his father wasn't aware that he missed a day of work.

"i know you were at some point. where else would you have been around dinner time?" the man snorted, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. these words somehow reassured donghyuck, knowing that his father wasn't suspicious of anything. "i'm asking after the restaurant. where were you?"

okay, now, donghyuck needed to find an answer to that. and a plausible one that is.

"i-i stayed behind a bit." he lied. "h-helped with kitchen stuff and everything... the restaurant was much busier than usual yesterday, so we had a bit of work."

donghyuck's father frowned, inspecting his son's face carefully for a few seconds before humming. "are you sure of yourself?" he asked, his tone defiant.

the boy couldn't help but gulp again, hoping that his lying skills had improved since when he was younger. "i-i am." he let out in a low voice.

"you don't seem so sure." sangkyu pointed out with an eyebrow raised.

"i am." donghyuck was quick to readjust his tone. "i stayed in the kitchen longer yesterday night."

his father then nodded, approving his son's words and making donghyuck relax for a second. however, his next words were enough to stress donghyuck out once again.

"tell me about the royal palace." the older man simply said, his eyes focusing back on his son.

a wave of panic went through donghyuck's body. why would his father talk about the royal palace? was he aware that donghyuck lied to him and that he was in fact staying at the royal palace yesterday evening? could it be that he was trying to trap donghyuck and give him a harsh scolding?

"t-the r-royal palace...?" donghyuck repeated the words nervously.  "w-what about it...?"

"you've been there a few times already, haven't you?" sangkyu raised a brow again. "i remember you asking me to go there a couple afternoons to observe them. did you lie to me and never go?"

"oh, no, no!" donghyuck immediately shook his head. "i did go. a couple times. i did." he assured.

"good. now, can you tell me what you heard there?" his father questioned. "can you repeat to me out loud the things they might have said that only prove how low they think of us and how badly they need to be gotten rid of?"