long live the king - nct, markhyuck

♕ 18 ♕

donghyuck's mind was everywhere except where it should currently be – precisely the kitchen of the restaurant he was doing his shift at. to be honest, his mind had been elsewhere ever since he had been thrown away from the royal palace hours prior.

he felt bad, having been caught by the queen both being inside the palace and having lied to her multiple times by pretending he was the nephew of another king; but that wasn't all. his heart was also aching, knowing that he hadn't had the time to say goodbye to mark, being forced to leave by the queen who most likely would have ordered a guard to kill him on the spot if he dared stepping closer to her son. and finally, he felt awfully guilty, having walked away from the palace and back in the safety of his village while he had left his lover back inside the royal place, in company of his mother who was furious.

now, hours later, after having turned his back on the boy he had learnt to love so much, the peasant stood miserably in the kitchen, a hundred questions spiralling in his mind and making him go completely crazy.

the questions were almost inoffensive at first, his usual curiosity getting the best of him.

had mark managed to stay safe in the palace?

had his mother refrained from being mean when talking with him?

had she scolded him badly?

had she forbidden mark to see donghyuck?

they slowly shifted to another depth, becoming more intrusive, with frightening possible answers.

would mark be okay?

would he miss donghyuck?

would he be able to see donghyuck again?

would he actually want to see donghyuck again?

bits by bits, the gravity of the questions morphed, now leaving the questions as nightmare-ish assumptions that donghyuck would rather never have to answer to.

what if he never saw mark again after this?

what if this afternoon had been his last interaction with mark?

what if the queen sent people to get rid of him?

what if he was banned from aes?

and finally, as he was fully consumed by the way his brain already pictured the worst-case scenarios, a wave of lucidity tainted by remorse and guilt took over him violently.

would have things been different if donghyuck had refused to leave mark behind?

would have things been different if donghyuck hadn't come back to the palace?

would have things been different if donghyuck had never listened to his father and visited the palace?

would have things been different if donghyuck hadn't fallen in love with mark?

would-

"donghyuck?!"

the tanned male's head shot up, tears flying from his eyes at the sudden movement. he immediately reached for his eyes with his sleeve, not wanting others to see that he was crying.

"are you alright donghyuck? you look sad." the worker that had disturbed him blinked, approaching the young male slowly.

"i'm fine." the peasant answer, clearing his throat. "just a rough day."

"ah." she flashed him a sad yet compassionate smile. "well, then perhaps that this will lift up your mood." her smile warmed up a bit as donghyuck looked at her curiously. "a friend of yours is there to see you."