𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱; markhyuck

❦5❦

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Donghyuck hesitated as his nail-bitten fingers wrapped around the front door's knob an hour after school. He had hidden in town for a while to hype himself up for the inevitable beating he was sure to endure upon entrance....so it was now or never.

His tongue glanced over his lower lip as he twisted the corroded brass and pushed on inside, his heavy bag sliding down his arms and landing on the ground by the stairs with a thunk. His breath hitched worriedly as his eyes darted from one place to another, the eery silence being more terrifying than if there was noise.

At least with sounds, he could locate where the demons all resided.

Someone's definitely home if the door's unlocked, he thought before stalking through a doorway into the sitting room. It was empty, thankfully. Usually his disappointment of a mother would perch in here with some cheap magazine and a bottle or four of wine.

Moving onwards, he trailed into the kitchen and sighed when he found his mother passed out on the table, cheek flat against the scratched, wooden surface and hair a brown-grey mess. There was a knocked over wine glass by her limp hand, which sort of spoke for itself, really.

"Mum," he murmured, not really wanting to wake her up, but now having the excuse 'I called your name, you just didn't hear me' when she arose.

Aside from the reeking stench of alcohol, there appeared to be a pot simmering with whatever combination of food was inside. Well, at least he'd be eating tonight. That was a nice change.

Donghyuck grumbled a few profanities under his breath when wandering out into the hall again and skipping the downstairs bathroom to head upstairs towards his room. His sister must've been home if there was a meal on, which was another disaster. Aside from cooking for her only sibling, she was an utter bitch with an atrocious taste in men.

He lingered on the last step right before the landing, listening out for any sounds from the three bedrooms. One of them was his, one of them was his mother's, and the other was once Jinhee's and Rijun's before they moved out to live in a 'better' home, which was equally as dire in Hyuck's opinion. Their family was a dead-end.

His heart skipped a beat as he sprinted rapidly towards his own bedroom, bursting through the door and slamming it shut behind him. Where are they? He wondered, knowing well that where Jinhee was, Rijun was.

A shadow spilled over the light across the floor produced by the grimy window, darkening the dank space immensely and torturing the poor teen's nerves.

"You're late," a deeper voice than his own hummed lowly, waiting with devilish smirk for Donghyuck's eyes to rise from his feet, to his darkened legs, over his hoodie-covered torso and finally to his face. "You weren't...avoiding home, were you, Hyuckie?"

Fuck! How did I not notice him before? "I-I had detention."

"Psh, no surprise there. I wouldn't want to be the teacher stuck looking after your dull ass though." The raven-haired adult started edging towards the younger, folded arms unwinding to open up and cage Donghyuck against the door. "Aren't you going to welcome me home?"

I wish you'd leave and never come back! "Why are you back?" He settled with to dodge World War III. "I-I thought Jinhee said-"

"Just to check up on the place, y'know? Your deadbeat mother is the only name on this house that separates us from having it, so we're...keeping an eye on her."

"Just admit that you can't wait 'til she offs herself from overdose...."

"That too," Rijun chuckled as if this was all perfectly natural to discuss. "You're eighteen, aren't you? When the fuck will you just move out and get a life as well?"

Donghyuck swallowed before attempting to escape the strong arms trapping him. Unfortunately, his tendency to not answer pissed his brother-in-law-to-be off a lot, and so he had one second to prepare before a knee was sent colliding into his weak stomach.

"Ack!" He coughed painfully, dropping onto the ground and hitting his already sore head off the hard surface. A flash of white streaked across his vision, shocking him as he blinked to shake off the daze. The air seemed colder....harsher now.

"C'mon, dick-sucker. You're so useless, honestly. All you do is eat, sleep and exist." Kick.

Hyuck whimpered pitifully, spitting out flecks of blood onto the worn and tattered floor. His guts felt like they'd all been popped and squished, and his skin was searing as if set alight.

He reached his hand out to pull himself along the ground at a weak shot of escape....but that was just it. A shot, that he blew. Rijun had heavy boots on, which he used to slam down on the male's unprepared fingers. Crack.

"Fuck!" Donghyuck screamed, low groans resonated from his throat and whines erupted through his chest as another kick to his ribs sent him rolling back against the wall. "Shit, Rijun! I have school tomorrow!"

"Hang on, tell me if you see the number of fucks I give on the sole of my shoe, yeah?" The older stamped down on his stomach. "Did you? Were there many?"

Damn it, the black-haired adult could've played this game for hours had they had the house to themselves. Fortunately for the younger, his sister was home and came banging on the door before pushing in without receiving an answer.

Her sights settled on her fiancée beating the crap out of her brother, but it wasn't worry she felt....just irritation. "God, Ri. He's not worth the effort. Come and have dinner, Mum's awake."

Hyuck glanced at her with pleading eyes, but she ignored them altogether along with the blood dripping down from the corner of his lip, trailing along his jaw. Rijun sighed, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets before spitting at the youngest's hair and following his lover out.

The brunette just lay there for a while, breathing heavily and biting back his incessant urge to sob. He hated this, and despised that there was absolutely no escape. He didn't have money to run off, or the education to get a proper job. School sucked ass, and he barely tolerated that hellhole as well.

His small hands came up to rub his eyes and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, irises dull from lack of energy. The regulating beat of his heart soothed the raging fire in his head....but it was slowly losing its effect over time, not working anymore.

The image of the people at school all sneering at him for being a 'slut' shrouded his mind's eye, and then the reality of his misgivings at home. He had done the right thing today....

Warding the new boy off.

God, what would Mark have thought of him if he knew what Lee Donghyuck was really going through?

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