Villain kids

47

The ballroom had never looked this alive.

The walls shimmered with magic. Gold ribbon trailed from floating chandeliers, soft violins danced above the crowd, and every glass of punch refilled itself without needing to be touched.
At the center of it all, under a towering arch of roses and fairy lights, Mark stood with Donghyuck at his side—and no one could look away.

People didn’t just smile at Donghyuck tonight.
They beamed. They clapped his shoulder, bowed, asked for stories.

Even animals kept approaching him—owls, a unicorn foal, three puppies, and one very determined goose.

Belle had tears in her eyes. She whispered to her husband, “He makes our son glow.”

---

At their table, the gang was on their third round of desserts.

“Seriously though,” Jaemin said, mouth half-full of a cherry tart, “Hyuck turning into a dragon? Peak main character move.”

“Yeah,” Jeno added, eyes wide. “And the purple scales? I was about to pledge fealty.”

“Y’all need to calm down,” Jisung muttered, flicking whipped cream off his sleeve. “He’s right there, like ten feet away.”

“Exactly,” Chenle said. “Ten feet. Too far for more praise.”

Sungchan reached across the table and dropped a miniature crown onto Hyuck’s plate as he passed. “For the true king,” he teased, grinning wide.

Donghyuck, who had been trying to sip quietly from a goblet of something fizzy, nearly choked.
He set it down with a red face and muttered, “You’re all embarrassing.”

“But it’s true,” Chenle said softly, looking up at him. “I’ve never seen someone face their own mother like that.”

“Or transform into a flaming, scaly, flying death machine,” Jisung added.

“I thought I was gonna pee myself,” Jaemin confessed.

Donghyuck shook his head, flustered but glowing from the attention. “I was terrified. I didn’t even know if I could do it…until I did.”

Mark, returning to the table with two plates of cake, placed one gently in front of him.

“You weren’t just brave,” Mark said, kneeling slightly to meet Hyuck’s gaze. “You were incredible. You were… exactly what this kingdom needed.”

---

Later, after the music had shifted to something slower and softer, the guests began to thin out.

Cinderella left with Prince Charming, waving daintily.
A few dwarves dozed at a table.
Someone had drawn a smiley face in frosting on the mirror.

And slowly, the castle began to quiet.

Mark stayed close to Donghyuck’s side, always with one hand brushing his back or shoulder or hand, like he still couldn’t believe he was real.

“You must be exhausted,” Mark murmured.

“I’m running on sugar and adrenaline,” Donghyuck replied with a grin.

“You want to sneak out?”

“…Kinda.”

---

They slipped out to the balcony, overlooking the garden where the coronation procession had begun that morning. It looked different now—twinkling lights strung along the hedges, a soft mist hugging the ground, the sound of distant crickets.

Donghyuck leaned over the railing, breathing in the night air. “Today feels like a dream.”

Mark stepped behind him, arms wrapping around his waist. “It was.”

“And you picked me,” Donghyuck whispered, voice tinged with wonder.

Mark didn’t answer with words.
He spun Donghyuck around. Cradled his face.

And kissed him.

Not like the first kiss in the ballroom, hurried and hungry.

But slow.

Intentional.

Like a promise being made—not just to each other, but to every version of themselves who ever thought they wouldn’t get this.

---

“I mean it,” Mark murmured as they broke apart. “You were amazing. I might have gotten turned on a little…”

Donghyuck blinked.

“A little?” he squeaked, his voice flying up two octaves.

Mark chuckled, low and breathy. “Okay, a lot. I'm a goner. You’re actually perfect.”

Donghyuck looked like he short-circuited. Cheeks flaming, lips slightly parted.

And then he hid his face in Mark’s chest with a dramatic groan.

“You’re too much.”

“You love it.”

Donghyuck peeked up at him, barely holding in a smile. “Maybe.”

Mark leaned in again, whispering: “Tell me I’m your favorite prince.”

“You’re my only prince,” Donghyuck mumbled.

Mark grinned. “Good answer.”

---

Downstairs, the gang was loitering near the fountains, still laughing, still buzzing.

“I guess this is it, huh?” Jeno said. “New future. New home.”

“I’m not crying, you’re crying,” Sungchan said, wiping his eye.

“Group hug?” Jaemin asked.

“…Only if you promise not to kiss me again,” Chenle deadpanned.

“No promises,” Jaemin said, already diving in.

They hugged. All of them. Tight and messy and real.

---

Back inside, under the moonlight, Donghyuck pulled back from Mark just enough to breathe, to catch his thoughts.

“What now?” he whispered.

Mark took his hand.

“Now,” he said, “we make the kingdom better.”

“And we make it ours.”

Donghyuck smiled, stars reflected in his eyes.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s do it. Together.”

---

And the night ended not with fanfare, but with quiet joy.

Two hearts, finally safe.

One kingdom, forever changed.

And a group of misfits—no, heroes—finding their place in the story.