Head Down

◤seventeen◢

"Jeno, I'm putting you in charge of the new transfer," Youngho announces, still having just a tiny bit more resentment towards the younger boy. After all, Youngho thinks that Jeno was the reason Donghyuck had come home so upset a few days ago.

"Why me?" Jeno complains, having no interest in touring a new student. He should've asked someone who was more social, someone who could actually be a potential friend for the transfer. Wasn't that the point of the student assigned to help show around the new student? Jeno didn't even like talking to anyone who weren't Donghyuck or Jaemin at school. "Why don't you ask Jaemin? He's super amicable and you know... More outgoing," he continues, trying to reason with the elder.

"Jeno," Youngho sighs. "Please help show the new student around. He's from Hong Kong, and his Korean is pretty average. I know you're... Nice and whatnot. And I know that I can trust you. I can right?"

"Of course!" Jeno immediately assures, only realizing a few seconds later that he's agreed to tour the new student. He mentally curses himself, but keeps his facade on the outside neutral, not wanting to add fuel to the fire between him and Youngho.

"Thank you Jeno."

"Whatever."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When Taeil walks into his classroom early one morning, he's surprised, pleasantly so, to find a bouquet of flowers on his front desk. A smile subconsciously makes its way onto his lips, and he plucks one flower out of the bunch, bringing it up to his nose to take a sniff. The dark pink petals give off such a subtle and sweet smell, a smell which brings him back to years ago. His eyes travel back to the bouquet on his desk, sitting in a cute glass vase. He feels his chest get heavy with the realization of the type of flowers, and he has to fight the sting behind his eyes.

They're pompons.

And only Youngho knows that he likes pompons.

Taeil has the resist the urge to toss all of the flowers away, and he doesn't know what to do with them. Looking at them sitting so prettily on his desk, it haunts him. It reminds of his past, something which he's been trying to erase for the longest time. He doesn't want to remember, he doesn't want to go back to that time, the time where he was happiest. He's anything but now, and he hates thinking about what could've been. Taeil always believed that everything happened for a reason, but was the reason for why his family of ten years was broken apart valid? He doesn't think it was, not matter how much he thinks about it. Youngho was his husband for crying out loud, and he's always been proud of the person he was. He's raised Donghyuck alone for two years, he's provided for his son, he's done everything he could've done in his power to make sure that Donghyuck had a childhood. He's also even taught Donghyuck to always be proud of who he was, to always embrace himself first.

So why did Youngho want to hide the fact that he was bisexual?

It confused Taeil, warped his mind in a way he didn't understand. He still doesn't understand.

And honestly, he doesn't think he'll ever understand.

Youngho had promised to always love Taeil. He promised that he'd give Taeil the world, give him anything he asked for. And he decided ten years after their relationship that he didn't want that anymore? Does that even make any sense? Sure, Youngho had wanted a divorce to cover up his sexuality, but that didn't mean he didn't break Taeil's heart.

Taeil always asks himself if he really wasn't worth anything more to Youngho.

Was he not worth it to him?

Was he not enough for Youngho? Was his endless patience, endless adoration for Donghyuck and endless love not enough for him?

Taeil doesn't know. And that's what kills him more than anything.

He doesn't know. Yeah, he's divorced, he's single and he's a grown man now, but he doesn't know why his marriage failed, why he isn't married to the love of his life and why Donghyuck isn't his son anymore.

Taeil doesn't know, and he doesn't have closure.

So he throws away the pompons, and wipes away his tears before anyone can see them.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"What did you just put into Mr. Moon's classroom?"

Donghyuck ignores the question, rounding a corner and making his way up a few stairs.

"Why are you at school so early?" He asks instead, not bothering to turn around and look the boy in his eyes.

"I could ask you that too," is all Mark counters, clearly trying to avoid the question. He doesn't want to say that the reason why he's at school so early is because Jaemin said that Jeno was picking him up today so that they could walk together. Mark would rather be at school twenty minutes early than have to spend time with Jeno. "But I have a feeling that you already know why the both of us are here early."

He doesn't have to see Donghyuck's face to know that he's right, and that the both of them are indeed here so early because they didn't want to walk with Jaemin and Jeno.

"My father is the principal of this school," the younger suddenly says, finally turning around at the top of the stairs, watching as Mark makes his way up.

"Your point?" The elder asks, cocking up an eyebrow.

"You don't want to know too much about my personal life. In turn, that means you know a lot about his."

Mark wants to laugh out loud at what Donghyuck says, but keeps it to himself in order to not seem like an asshole. I mean, sure, Mark and Donghyuck haven't been anything but hostile to each other, but as of lately, as he's been finding out more about Donghyuck, he realizes that there isn't much to hate about the honey suckled boy, save for his nosiness, stubbornness, annoying-ness, pettiness, melodramatic ass, overconfidence, arrogance, oversharing personality, shameless self—

Okay, so maybe there were a lot of things Mark hates about Donghyuck but he's also realized that Donghyuck was an open book. And as loud and outgoing he is, he's also a great person to rant to. And not that Mark wants to tell Donghyuck all his problems... Let's just say that he doesn't avoid the park anymore.

"You're the one who always tells me excess information about your family life," Mark scoffs, cocking his head to the side. "I don't ask for all of this knowledge."

A small smile comes onto Donghyuck's lips, and before Mark can register what's happening, the younger boy is pulling him up the stairs behind him.

"Let me tell you a little something else then," he mutters, opening the door to the school's roof, ignoring the sign which clearly read 'No Student Entry'.

"Or not," Mark suggests, not making any move to remove his hand from Donghyuck's.

"Or I could," Donghyuck laughs, walking up to the edge of the rooftop. He looks over the edge of the building, simply admiring the view from up above. Mark heads to stand beside Donghyuck, and just like the first time, Mark wasn't prepared to hear what the younger had to say.

"Jeno isn't just my stepbrother. Jeno's my ex-boyfriend."