Silver Cuffs and Torn Textbooks

“Donghyuck, what are you doing here this late?” Doyoung asks, stumbling upon his intern sprawled out on the file room floor. Donghyuck looks disheveled, he clearly hasn’t moved in hours. “Donghyuck, look at me. When was the last time you went home?”

“Mark and noona shouldn’t be in prison, they-they did it for me! It’s my fault, the jury was biased and I’d bet anything it’s because my dad paid them off.” Donghyuck rambles, he ignores Doyoung as he kneels beside him, beginning to sort the explosion of papers surrounding him. “No-! I have to keep working.”

“Donghyuck, it’s been a year. They have six more at least,” Doyoung says sadly, the sentence for aggravated assault alone is fourteen years, but they both got the time reduced to seven by pleading guilty. But Irene was also charged for kidnapping, adding another five years for her. She had convinced the court that Mark hadn’t taken part in that. “I’ll drive you home, come on.”

“No, I can’t go home. I failed them, they both relied on noona, now that she’s gone they’re different. They’re sad.” Donghyuck mutters, Doyoung pulls him to his feet and sits him on the table as he starts to clean. “And Taeyong-hyung, he doesn’t say it but he’s upset too. I can see it in how he looks at me, he hates me.”

“You need sleep.” Doyoung tells him, shutting down his cruel thoughts. He sends Wendy a text, explaining he found Donghyuck and they should head back home. He had Seulgi and Wendy searching for him, Jisung was panicking and kept calling his brother but received no response.

The ride home is silent, Donghyuck is staring at his black phone screen, biting his lips until he draws blood. Doyoung knows his first instinct is still to text Mark, then Jaemin and Jeno, then Renjun. He had to change schools, being at the school his step-mother teaches at hurt him. Him and Jisung were transferred courtesy of Wendy, she has her own connections and uses them when she needs to.

But all this change in Donghyuck's last year of high school has caused his anxiety to worsen, Seulgi had to convince him to let her take him to see a psychologist. It uncovered years of unspoken self hatred, it showed that the little things Donghyuck did was his anxiety making an appearance. His depression was the least surprising thing to the teen, his therapist mentioned that it’s shocking he’s still so stable after years of abuse and neglect.

Donghyuck doesn’t feel stable though, he feels like his world has fallen apart.

“Donghyuck, where were you?” Seulgi asks, hugging him tight, Doyoung bows respectfully before leaving again, Wendy nods at him once before shutting the door. “You scared us, Jisung was so worried-”

“Hyung!” Jisung exclaims, jumping into his arms. Donghyuck is frozen, he hasn’t taken the time to think about how Jisung has been coping with this. “I missed you, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I- yeah, I’m totally okay. I’m sorry I scared you all, I just needed some time to myself.” Donghyuck apologizes, ruffling Jisung’s honey blond hair. The younger had wanted to dye his hair for years, finally able to once he was legally in the care of Seulgi. With Irene in prison, Seulgi was the one they put on the papers. She had taken him to get bleach and hair dye right away, doing it herself as a bonding experience. “I’m gonna go to bed, I’ll see you in the morning.”

~~~~~

“Donghyuck, you shouldn’t be here.” Baekhyun scolds, Donghyuck had shown up at Lights Out to fight, he won’t be taking no for an answer. “Look, Irene told me not to let you fight, I’m not going to disobey her.”

“She’s not here, is she? Let me fight, anybody. Is Changbin in? Hyunjin?”

“Changbin is in school full time, he only has time for that and work. Hyunjin got fucked up a while ago, we haven’t seen him in about four months.” Baekhyun tells him, trying to catch his wrist to stop him. The teen hops behind the counter, grabbing a bottle of something strong and keeps walking, avoiding bartenders and his hyung. “Donghyuck-”

“Hyung, hi.” Donghyuck smiles at Jongin, the bartender raises a brow, looking behind him to where Baekhyun is shaking his head. “I’m fighting tonight, last minute sorry, I know you hate that. Anybody I can hit?”

“Look, kid, my boss told me to turn you away.” Jongin tells him, putting an arm between him and the ring. Donghyuck raises a brow, meeting his eyes stubbornly and scowling.

“Suho-hyung-?”

“No.”

“Taeyong?” Donghyuck asks, that’s the only other person with the authority to even think about bossing around EXO, especially when it comes to him. But when Jongin shakes his head, Donghyuck has to pause and think for a moment. “Mark. He told you to keep me away, why? He’s not here, he can’t control me.”

“He knew you’d get destructive, why do you think we’ve been turning you away at the door until now?” Baekhyun asks, Donghyuck had noticed that, of course he did. He’d been spending more time brushing up on his law though, researching ways to get Mark and Irene out. When looking into it and reading the transcript from the trial, he realized that legally they had no evidence of the pair being anywhere near his father at the time it supposedly happened. It was a bunch of hypotheticals strung together to look like a case, it was complete bullshit. “You don’t take care of yourself, Hyuck. Doyoung told us he keeps finding you at the office, you never go home and you never sleep.”

“That’s because I need to get them out, they’re locked up because of me. It’s all my fault, I should’ve just fucking stayed home, I never should’ve involved anybody.” Donghyuck steps back, avoiding Jongin’s touch as he reaches out. “I should’ve just fucking taken it, it’s all my fault.”

“Donghyuck-”

“Leave me alone.” Donghyuck turns and bolts, he finds himself in a patch of grass so he curls up against the swingset, hiding his face as he cries. For the first time in months, he’s letting himself feel. His emotions wash over him in waves, drowning him until he can’t breath. He shakes, scratching at his arms and pulling at his hair.

He doesn’t know how long he sits there, sobbing, but when he finally looks up, the sun is beginning to rise.

“Where were you?” Seulgi asks as he opens the front door, Jisung is sitting at the table eating breakfast, eyes wide at the sight of his brother. It’s obvious Donghyuck was crying. “Oh, lovely, come here.”

“I’m sorry, noona. I’m sorry i fucked everything up, you had everything perfect and I just- I ruined it. I ruin everything.” Donghyuck can’t stop the tears from falling again, Seulgi pets his hair, holding him as he shudders. “I’m sorry, I fuck it all up and now you and Wendy-noona don’t have Irene, and I ruined Mark’s family, Taeyong loves his brother so much and I split them up. Why did I-? How could I-?”

“I think you should get some sleep, my love. Jisung, can you take the bus to school? I have fare in my purse, you can take it and some money for lunch.” Seulgi tells him, Jisung nods, he goes to her purse to find the change, giving them space. “Donghyuck, what’s wrong? Why are you so upset?”

“It’s my fault they’re in jail.” Donghyuck says simply, he doesn’t meet her eyes as his tears stop falling. He’s cried himself dry. “I ruin everything I touch, why do I keep doing this? Why-? Why am I like this?”

“Come with me, you need some rest.” Seulgi has to pull him upstairs to his bedroom, she sits him down and takes his shoes off, bringing the covers back for him to lay down. “Close your eyes, I’ll wipe off your makeup.”

“Noona, why am I like this?”

“You’re not destructive, Donghyuck. I don’t know why you see yourself like that, you’re not the reason they’re in jail. They made the choice to go after your father, I miss them too but they’re capable of making decisions.” Seulgi tells him, she sits on the edge of the bed with makeup wipes, telling him to shut his eyes again. “They only know how to protect people, that’s all Irene has done her whole life. The reason she’s friends with so many people is because she has a habit of taking people in, she’s been doing it as long as I’ve known her.

“She’s always known she’d go to prison, she’s had a list of instructions for years. She updates it from time to time, but she’s always been prepared. Irene wasn’t afraid of being convicted, she was worried about us.” Seulgi mumbles, Donghyuck silently listens, letting her clean his face. “Mark loves you, he loves you so much. First time I met him I knew he’d kill for you. Taeyong and I met after the sentence was announced, we talked about you two. Mark would’ve done anything for you.”

“He didn’t have to, I don’t deserve it.”

“Shush, listen to me.” Seulgi instructs, in the past year she’s grown firmer, she’s not as soft spoken as she once was. “You have nothing to blame yourself for, remember that. They are hardwired to be on the attack, this time it just came back to bite them in the ass.”

“But noona-”

“Hey,” Seulgi says softly, Donghyuck slowly opens his eyes, a tear falling down his cheek. “You’re still Irene’s first baby, she cares for you in a way different from her brother or the others she’s taken care of. You’re Mark’s first love, and he loves you so much. You taught those two emotionally unavailable people I have ever met how to love, and you got them to do it willingly and without realizing they were falling.”

Donghyuck doesn’t know what to say to that, he never thought of it that way. When Irene had taken Donghyuck in, she had already met Seulgi and Wendy. He didn’t realize how much he broke down her walls, she already had Johnny and Jaehyun, she was already taking care of the girls working at her club, but when he showed up she took him in like her own child.

He knew Mark had never dated anybody before, his mother had forced him to focus on school. Taeyong had wanted him to flirt and make friends, but his insecurities were overwhelming. When they met, the elder had faked his confidence. Donghyuck easily saw through it and eased him out of his shell, making him feel comfortable around strangers.

“Get some sleep, my love. When you wake up I’ll make you something to eat,” Seulgi says softly, she tucks him in, kissing his forehead sweetly. Donghyuck lays in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling blankly, eventually drifting off.

~~~~~

“Hyungie!” Donghyuck exclaims, jumping into Mark’s arms as soon as his eyes find his. A guard has to tell him they only allow ten second hugs, forcing them apart and gesturing for them to sit at a table. “I’m sorry it’s been so long, I couldn’t- I couldn’t.”

“It’s okay, Hyuck. I understand,” Mark says reaching out to take his hand, the guard shouts to stop them from touching. The first time Donghyuck had visited, it was two months after Mark was convicted and the younger had an anxiety attack. He felt guilty, he felt like it was his fault. He still does, but he hasn’t visited in almost four months. “How’s the internship?”

“I use it for research, I’m trying to get you out.” Donghyuck tells him, Mark sighs, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “You’re not supposed to be here-”

“You know that’s not true.” Mark shakes his head, other inmates sitting nearby are with wives, girlfriends and children. None of them are paying attention to him, but he’s still paranoid. “You know it’s going to be another five years before I’m considered parol, you should forget about me. You have a bright future, you have a chance at being a great defense attorney, stop wasting your time with me.”

“Stop- don’t start with that bullshit, you know it’s not going to happen so don’t even try.” Donghyuck scolds him, worked up at the thought of not seeing him again. “How’s your cellmates, Changbin said Hyunjin was in here too.”

“Yeah, we’re roomies. He and I get along well,” Mark says nodding, Hyunjin was arrested for drug possession. He was a runner for an older kid at their high school, he did it to get extra cash, needing to get out of Seoul. He refused to take money from Changbin or Felix, his boyfriends had offered to help him out but he felt guilty taking their money. It ended with him getting caught. “I have friends, I’m not alone, okay? Are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Alone, are you shutting yourself in?” Mark asks softly, Donghyuck can’t meet his eyes, instead he focuses on the borrowed rings decorating his fingers. “Baby, you can’t do that. Are Jeno and Jaemin in the city? I know you said that Renjun was dragged back to China, but are you still talking to them?”

“Their parents don’t like them hanging out with me, apparently I’m a bad influence.” Donghyuck shrugs, he glances up to see Mark smile. “I’ll try to get out more, okay? Baekhyun isn’t letting me fight anymore, thanks to you.”

“I’m not apologizing for doing that, he visited and told me that the first thing you did was try to fight. I know you, I know how you cope. Irene and I set up things to keep from hurting yourself,” Mark says gently, Donghyuck smiles sadly, upset he was so predictable. He used to be able to throw anybody off, making them unable to guess his next move. “I’ll send him a message, as long as you aren’t being stupid.”

“I’m never stupid.” Donghyuck argues, Mark lets out a bark of laughter, rolling his eyes as he covers his mouth. “You’re such an ass, fucking stop laughing.”

“I’m sorry, I am, but you’re just so cute.” Mark teases, wanting to reach out and pinch his cheek but holds back. Donghyuck pouts cutely, Mark smiles when he sees the makeup he’s learned to love. Sparkly eyeshadow, highlight, lip tint. He sees it as Donghyuck healing, when the trial was going on he stopped wearing any makeup, Seulgi said he stopped wearing makeup unless he was planning on drinking. “I love you, Donghyuck.”

“I love you too, Minhyungie.” Donghyuck smiles, he glances to the guard as Mark takes both of his hands, kissing his knuckles quickly before pulling away. The younger giggles, laughing at how ridiculous his hyung is. “Do you still have the chain?”

“Yeah, I’d fight the entire prison before I’d let them touch it.” Mark shows it off, the thin silver chain he was gifted. They’re allowed jewelry, but this was the only thing he kept, something to remember his boyfriend. “You’re graduating soon.”

“Yeah, but I wanted you to be my date.” Donghyuck mumbles, Mark missed his high school graduation and now he’s missing Donghyuck’s.

“Your birthday is soon, right? Don’t worry about me, you’ll be eighteen soon, you can do whatever you want.” Mark tries to lighten the conversation, but Donghyuck just tears up and his lip quivers. “Hey, baby, don’t cry.”

“It’s all my fault you’re stuck in here. You won’t get out until you’re, like, twenty-three. You’re stuck in here when you should be out there with me, doing dumb college shit.” Donghyuck wipes his eyes, Mark reaches out again but the guard snaps at him, reminding him of the many rules. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Donghyuck. I made my choice, just be glad they only got me for what I did to your dad and not anything else.” Mark winks, Donghyuck suddenly remembers the man who attacked him in the alley over a year ago, Yuta had mentioned he was found in the river. “I did what I needed to, I’m paying the price because I wasn’t careful. That’s all, I deserve to be here.”
“Stop saying that.” Donghyuck whines, Mark rolls his eyes, knowing Donghyuck uses how cute he is to get what he wants. Mark can’t say no to him, he never could. “Visiting is different than how it was when Wendy-noona was here, it was the classic type you see in movies, the big glass wall and the desk. But she was also in for murder, not just murder, but a really brutal murder.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot she did time too.” Mark says leaning on the table, he’s missed being able to listen to him talk. “When was the first time you met her?”

“In prison, I was with Irene-noona and Seulgi-noona and we went to visit her. They didn’t want to leave me home alone, so the three of us squished together in the small visiting space. Wendy-noona looked so young, she was only nineteen after all.” Donghyuck explains, stumbling over his words when he remembers Mark is turning nineteen in August. “Irene had gotten in touch with lawyers, the firm Doyoung-hyung runs now. Her father had bought it because they were refusing to take the case, as soon as they were done with the case he fired them and hired new ones, proper attorneys that wouldn’t be afraid to take cases they wouldn’t win.

“When Doyoung-hyung was in high school, Irene got him an internship like me, as soon as he graduated he was in charge.” Donghyuck tells him, remembering the stories Irene told him. She was looking after Johnny and in turn his friends, she got Doyoung to the top because he deserved it. She paid for Johnny’s graduate school, getting him his teaching degree. He hasn’t started teaching yet, but he’s getting there. “Noona always used her status to help people, she had to argue with her dad to let Seulgi-noona and Wendy-noona have access to the fortune. It took a whole three months to convince him, he had to meet them a dozen times.”

“Why was he so stubborn?” Mark asks, tilting his head to the side. Donghyuck’s face lights up when he talks about his noonas, he giggles when he remembers little things, smiling bright when Mark asks questions. When visiting time is over, Mark has to say goodbye to his boyfriend, hugging him tight. “I love you. Come visit again.”

“I love you too.”

~~~~

Mark wakes up to his cellmates arguing, he sits up sleepily to Wonwoo shouting at Jinwoo, something about crumbs and bugs. Hyunjin is sitting on the windowsill, laughing at them. Changkyun shouts at them from the bathroom, not having the patience this early in the morning. They’re all around the same age, Jinwoo is the oldest being born in 1994, Hyunjin is the youngest from 2000. A lot of the other cells have at least a twenty year age gap so they’re lucky, but at the same time they argue more than the others.

It doesn’t help that they’re all in for violent crimes.

Hyunjin for drug possession, Mark with aggravated assault, Wonwoo for arson, Changkyun for aggravated assault and murder, then Jinwoo for possession of an illegal weapon. They’re not exactly the pickpocket and forced entry kind of people.

Half the time Mark’s convinced he’ll wake up with a blade to his throat, Wonwoo or Changkyun straddling him, not quite awake from a nightmare. He knows they come from rough parts of town, so he doesn’t blame their screams that wake the whole cell block.

“Who came to visit you yesterday?” Changkyun asks, grabbing a bottle of ice tea from their shelf. This has everybody staring at him, including the always silent Wonwoo. Mark rolls his eyes, tucking his mat away and grabbing his toothbrush. “Hey, I asked you something. Who came to see you? Why were you gone the whole hour?”

“My boyfriend, I haven’t seen him since my trial so we got distracted talking.” Mark snaps, meeting Changkyun’s eyes angrily. “Anything else?”

“He’s the reason you’re here, aren’t you.” Changkyun smirks, Mark pushes past him, going to the toilet with a bottle of water to brush his teeth. They don’t have a sink. “You did something for him, now you’re here and he’s out there. He’s probably fucking around.”

“You don’t know him.” Hyunjin snaps, Mark is trying to ignore them. The thought of Donghyuck sleeping around stirs up jealousy, an ugly feeling he tries to push down. “Donghyuck wouldn’t do that to hyung-”

“So you know him too?” Changkyun smirks, nudging Wonwoo smugly. The younger simply glances over to the youngest, then to Mark before turning back to his book. “Why’s Mark in here?”

“I can’t tell you-”

“Oh come on, Hyunjinnie, tell me.” Changkyun bugs him, pushing him against the glass window until he shoves back. “Why’s he here?”

“Ask me yourself.” Mark snaps, annoyed at how easily he got upset. “If you have to know, I’m here for beating the shit out of my boyfriend’s abusive dad. Only reason I didn’t kill him was because my partner in crime stopped me.”

“Who helped you?” Jinwoo asks, Mark throws his things onto his shelf, grabbing his hoodie.

“Bae Irene, I’m sure you know her.”

“How do you know Bae Irene?” Wonwoo asks, Mark knew her reputation was well known, but not to this extent. “She’s like a ghost story, nobody knows her other than what she’s done.”

“Our gangs are close,” Mark says shrugging, Taeyong had advised him not to mention NCT, and he hasn’t. But sometimes you need to prove yourself, he’s one of the youngest in the room and to prevent himself from being a doormat, he has to expose his ties.

“How the fuck are you part of a gang?” Changkyun asks confused, Mark shrugs smugly, liking knowing things the elder doesn’t. “Fucking brat, you can’t just say that shit and not tell us the rest.”

“I can do whatever the fuck I want, you’re not the boss of me.” Mark stubbornly announces, Hyunjin hides his own grin, not wanting the wrath of the older turned on him. There’s a hierarchy in cells, typically the oldest or the one with the most violent crime is in charge. Changkyun is in for assault and murder, him and Mark are on the same level, but the younger was only charged for assault. His first murder has gone unsolved. “Just because you got caught for murder doesn’t mean you’re the only person with blood on your hands, hyung.”

~~~~~

“This is weird.” Wendy mumbles to herself, her and Seulgi are in the visiting area to see Irene, her and the eldest have swapped positions. “I- it’s the same place, it hasn’t changed.”

“It really hasn’t.” Irene agrees, holding both of their hands. Seulgi is on edge, not liking the memories this prison holds. The men’s side is across a long field, meaning they can visit Mark as well. Donghyuck had visited earlier that week so they’ll go with him again soon, knowing the teen gets anxious about going by himself. “How’s Donghyuck doing?”

“He’s still finding the precautions you and Mark set out, he’s not a fan of them.” Wendy tells her, she understands why they did that, she would’ve done the same thing in their situation. But Donghyuck just sees it as people controlling him, he doesn’t see their fears behind it. “He turns eighteen in just over a month, then he graduates. He misses you.”

“I know he does, I know how hard this is for him. He doesn’t realize that I would’ve done it a thousand times, I already have. He’s just upset, he was getting better last time I saw him.” Irene sighs, Seulgi nods, remembering the long talk she had with him. He was getting destructive, but after that he’s changing. “Are you guys keeping up with your jobs?”

“Yeah, I still go. Jaebum drives me home when he works,” Seulgi says, their detective friend is somebody they’ve known longer than Donghyuck. He was Irene’s cop connection when Wendy was imprisoned, with her help he got up to detective. “Wendy is still working at the library too.”

“Anybody giving you a hard time?” Irene asks protectively, Wendy smiles, shaking her head. At the university library she works at, some of the younger staff like to ask personal questions. Irene has ties, forcing them to look past her criminal record.

“Some of the students try to start conversations, but it’s weird when they’re Sicheng’s age and trying to hit on me.” Wendy shrugs, Irene laughs, it’s her undignified one and she covers her mouth quickly. “I can’t tell you how many times I have to tell them I’m a lesbian, and some of the guys doubt it. It’s so annoying.”

“I can imagine.” Irene teases, Seulgi giggles too, knowing how much Wendy hates talking to strangers. “You should talk to some of the students and staff, make some friends. Some that aren’t in any gangs.”

“But those people are so boring.” Wendy grins, glancing to the guards, eyeing their guns. “I hate it here, it’s the worst.”

“I know, love, but it’s okay.” Irene holds her hands, getting away with it for a moment before the nearest guard snaps at them. “For the most part, it's okay.”

“Are they letting you outside, you’re so pale.” Wendy asks, finally notices how washed out her girlfriend has become.

“Yeah, but it’s not as important for us to work out as it is for the guys. Most of us walk around the track, you know I get dizzy easily.” Irene shrugs, Wendy’s face scrunches with concern. “Don’t worry, the doctors here are good enough. If I was really worried I’d call my father. Speaking of which, has he reached out at all?”

“No, I don’t think he likes us.” Seulgi answers, she wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Mr Bae had first met her when she was one of Seungri’s side pieces, that was before he was brutally murdered. Ever since then, he obviously doesn’t respect her. “He views Donghyuck and Jisung as his grandkids though, as long as he thinks of them like that I don’t care what he thinks of me.”

“Has he even met them?” Irene asks confused, she knows her father is somewhat traditional, but she didn’t expect him to alienate her partners.

“A few times, he wanted to meet them after he heard about the adoption papers. He scared the shit out of Jisung, he reminded them of their dad at first. Your dad is letting them call him grandpa, it’s throwing me off.” Wendy tells her, knowing how business like Irene’s relationship with her father is. “He gives them both allowances, I tried telling him it wasn’t necessary but he honestly doesn’t care what I have to say.”

“I’ll have to call him, I thought we were done with this. After the fortune affair, I thought he accepted you two. I should’ve known better,” Irene says annoyed, making a mental note to call her father. “At least he’s being nice to the boys.”

“That’s all I care about.” Seulgi tells her, Irene nods, resting her head on her hand. “Have you been getting enough sleep?”

“I’m okay, princess. Don’t worry,” Irene smiles, squeezing her hand for a moment. “Visiting time is almost done, you’ll tell Donghyuck I love him, right?”

“Of course we will,” Wendy promises her, she goes to hold her but a guard shouts at her. Wendy’s entire body tenses, Seulgi puts an arm around her waist and kisses her shoulder sweetly. “I fucking hate it here.”

“I know, but we’re leaving very soon.” Seulgi assures her, knowing how badly she was treated here. When you’re viewed as a murderer, people decide what rights you get, and according to them she didn’t deserve any. The other prisoners left her alone for the most part, she had made friends with a woman named Jessi, and she protected the younger. The guards did what any man with power does, they took advantage of the female inmates. Wendy would fight back, she’d scratch, bite, kick, spit. That’s how she survived. “Unnie, we love you. Take care of yourself, please.”

“I will, I love you both too. I love you both so much,” Irene says sadly, despite having friends in the prison, she feels alone. She knows she can’t trust them fully, she knows they’re programmed to survive and will put anybody down to do it. She’s back to high school, stuck with surface level friendships.

In the car ride home, Wendy is silent, focusing on the road. Seulgi watches her, knowing she’s upset. “Wendy, talk to me.”

“I’m fine.” Wendy shrugs her off, turning the radio on to stop her from talking. Seulgi shuts it off right away, earning a sharp sigh from her girlfriend. “I’m fine, why are you overthinking this?”

“Because you’re not fine, you’re upset. I know you hate going back, but we had to see unnie. Next time you don’t have to come, I told you I could’ve gone by myself.” Seulgi tells her, Wendy shakes her head, stopping as the light ahead turns red. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t let me go by myself, we let Donghyuck go by himself. I’m not seventeen, I’m twenty four years old, I can do things on my own.”

“I know you’re not seventeen, I’m just worried about you, okay? I love you, I don’t want you getting hurt.” Wendy mumbles, resting her elbow on the open window, shoving her hair back. Seulgi mumbles that the light is green, crossing her arms and looking out her own window. “I know you can do things on your own, I know. But you’ve had Irene for the past seven years, you just got a job that isn’t looked after by her. I don’t want you getting hurt, you’re all I have.”

“Just because I’ve had you and unnie looking after me for a while doesn’t mean I’m useless, I stayed where Irene could keep an eye on me because we both know how she gets when she’s worried. It took years to convince her to let me get a job, she’s always been paranoid that Seungri’s guys are still looking for me.” Seulgi snaps at her, demanding her words be listened to.

When Irene had met Seulgi, she was one of Seungri’s pets. Seulgi was seventeen, she didn’t know anybody in Seoul or Daegu, she was high half the time and never knew where she was. Seungri took her to one of Mr Bae’s banquets as his date, Irene took one look at her and knew she wasn’t there on purpose.

“I did it to ease her anxieties! You think I wanted to be stuck at home for seven years? I fought with her to let me work at the club, I fought with her to let me sit in business meetings, to meet her dad when I wasn’t high off my ass, to do anything!” Seulgi shouts, Wendy pulls the car to the side, turning on the hazards and looking to the other. “I know I’m fucking stupid and naive, okay? But don’t treat me like a child, we are the same age. I look after you too, don’t act like this is one sided.”

“I’m sorry.” Wendy whispers, realizing she was being too overbearing. “I should’ve thought it through. I didn’t mean- I didn’t mean to be so controlling. I’ll try not to.”

“I’m not saying you can’t be protective, but there has to be a limit.” Seulgi tells her, reaching out to take her hand hesitantly. She smiles softly when Wendy laces their fingers together, kissing her knuckles. “Let’s go home now, I need a snuggle.”

~~~

“Ya! Park Jisung!” A shrill voice shrieks, waking Donghyuck up too early on a Saturday. “Noona! Tell Jisung to stop!”

Donghyuck untangles himself from his comforter, sliding all the rings on his fingers and pulling on his glasses. He’s been trying to get a better sleep schedule, Doyoung isn’t letting him come to the office for an entire week, or whenever Wendy thinks he’s gotten better.

After seeing Mark, he was obviously upset. But Mark can take care of himself, knowing him, he’s probably mouthing off to anybody who brings Donghyuck up. Mark normally can keep his mouth shut, but sometimes he can’t. Mark won’t flaunt what he’s done unless he has to, and even then, he’ll try to ignore the life he took.

“Jisung! You and your friend are so fucking loud,” Donghyuck says sleepily, rubbing his eyes as he wanders into the kitchen. Chenle, the shrill voice from before, waves happily, sifting powdered sugar onto his crepes. “Where’s noona?”

“Wendy-noona is at work, Seulgi-noona is getting ready for work too.” Jisung explains, pointing to the plate of crepes for him. He elbows Chenle, dumping more sugar on and earning a slap to the shoulder. Donghyuck rolls his eyes at the pair of them, the fifteen and sixteen year olds are ridiculous.

Jisung has had the biggest crush on Chenle since the year prior, but he hid it after seeing Donghyuck get kicked out for the same reason. He confessed to his brother about it, terrified of being laughed at or outed. But Donghyuck just rubbed his back, trying to stop the tears from falling, and promised it would all be okay.

“Wendy-noona said Irene-noona wanted her to make friends, I think she’s going to try. I think it’ll be good for her, she doesn’t have any friends that aren’t criminals.” Jisung tells him, Donghyuck glances to the chinese boy, but Jisung just nods and smiles. “Chenle knows, I told him. Is that okay?”

“If he tells anybody, I know people that can make him disappear.” Donghyuck shrugs simply, smearing peanut butter onto his breakfast, smirking when Chenle asks. “I’m kidding… I wouldn’t ask them to make you disappear.”

“But that means- that means you know people who could-”

“It’s better you don’t know, kid. Your dad is a lawyer and I’m affiliated with his enemies.” Donghyuck winks, Jisung swats at him and mutters to Chenle that he’s joking. “I’m going to Lights Out, I might swing by Peek-A-Boo tonight too, I don’t know when I’ll be home.”

“Can we go to Peek-A-Boo?” Jisung pouts, Donghyuck sighs, opening his mouth to tell him no but the younger cuts him off. “You’ve been going since you were twelve! I’m fifteen!”

“Yeah, but that was different. The club was new, noona didn’t want to leave me alone. You two can find somewhere else to hang out,” Donghyuck says, shaking the butterknife at the two boys. Chenle tugs Jisung’s sleeve, leaning close to whisper something only they know. “Ya, you’re not allowed at the club. At any club. Chanyeol-hyung works tonight, he’ll turn you away if he sees you at Lights Out. Johnny-hyung is at the door of Peek-A-Boo too, just stay here.”

“But hyung~~~”

“There are so many other places for you to hang out, I can drive you to the mall if you want.” Donghyuck offers, taking a bite of his crepe, groaning when fillings spill out the other end. “We’ve led different lives, little brother, I can get away with other shit.”

“It’s unfair, why can’t I do anything fun?” Jisung whines, crossing his arms as he leans back. Donghyuck rolls his eyes again, finding it annoying at how Jisung aches to be a bad boy, how much he wants to fight and drive. Jisung’s always been the golden boy, he’s been sheltered his whole life, all of a sudden he can speak and have an opinion. “Can we come with you? The hyungs will probably lock us in Junmyeon-hyung’s office anyway.”

“Oh my god, fine. Shut up now,” Donghyuck snaps, Jisung grins, elbowing Chenle proudly. The other boy elbows back, muttering quickly until Jisung bursts out laughing. “Don’t dress like a twelve year old, you don’t want the cops to catch you.”

“But this is Jaebum-hyung’s area, he doesn’t care.”

“Stop being a smart ass.”

~~~

“Woah, I didn’t know Donghyuck-hyung could fight.” Chenle gasps, him and Jisung are in the office, a box of pizza and cans of soda on the floor between them. The wall is glass, allowing them to watch the fights below. “He’s so cool. Does he really know scary people?”

“You never met Irene-noona, she can be terrifying when she wants. Hyung is friends with everybody, just like her. I think it runs in the family, I guess. Our grandpa- I mean, Irene-noona’s dad, is friendly too.” Jisung explains, wincing when Donghyuck gets struck in the face. “I wish I was like that, they’re so cool.”

“You’re cool too, just in a different way. You’re such a good dancer, you don’t need to be scary to be cool.” Chenle comforts, gasping when Donghyuck returns the strike, breaking his opponent’s nose. “I haven’t seen Mark-hyung in a while, where is he?”

“Prison.”

“What-?”

“He and Irene-noona beat up Donghyuck’s dad, they found out he had started beating me too. They’re in for almost ten years, I think. Noonas went to visit Irene-noona last week, hyung went to visit Mark-hyung the week before.” Jisung tells him shushing his worries easily, Chenle sputters more exclamations, wanting more information. “It’s fine, Chenle. We’re all coping, Donghyuck-hyung is just starting to adjust too. He was really depressed for a while, we were all really worried.”

“Is he okay now?” Chenle asks softly, tearing his eyes from the fight below to look into Jisung’s. The younger flushes, coughing awkwardly as he nods, hiding his embarrassment behind his can. He’s sure his hyung would tease him endlessly if he saw this. “I’m glad, I get why he was so upset though. Mark-hyung was, like, his first love. You can’t just forget about that.”

“Yeah, that’s what Seulgi-noona says too.” Jisung nods, waving down to Donghyuck once the fight ends. “Hyung really loves him, I don’t know what else makes him that happy.”

“That’s sweet, he deserves to be happy.” Chenle mumbles, Jisung missed his hyung so much. Mr Zhong found out that Jisung had moved in with Donghyuck and his noonas, his first action was to ban the friends from seeing each other. It didn’t last long though, they found ways to see each other around the ban, eventually Mr Zhong just gave up. “You seem tired though, Sungie. Are you sleeping properly?”

“Me? I’m fine, hyung.” Jisung answers, shrugging nonchalantly. Chenle doesn’t believe him, he knows him too well. Jisung’s been having nightmares for almost a whole year, images and memories of his stepfather standing above him, striking down until he bleeds. “Wanna sleepover?”

~~~~

Living in a small room with four other teenage boys is kind of stressful, Mark knows what it’s like to live with brothers - Taeyong had an apartment with Jaehyun, Johnny and Ten, it was crowded when Mark would stay for a few weeks - but this is worse.

“Get off me!” Mark snaps, shoving the half asleep Changkyun off his torso, knocking the ‘blade’ out of his hand and to the floor. This wakes Hyunjin and Wonwoo, Jinwoo sleeps like the dead so it isn’t surprising that he doesn’t even flinch, and they try to calm Changkyun down to get him to sleep some more. “I get you’ve done some fucked up shit, but deal with it yourself. I’m sick and tired of this shit, you’re fycking 24 years old!”

“Hyung-” Hyunjin starts softly, cut off when Mark punches the brick wall hard, his knuckles cracking against it. Hyunjin crouches beside him in the corner, leaning against him to try and comfort him. “I know he’s an asshole, but he’s really fucked up. I can’t tell you why right now, but just try to be a little more patient. You’ve seen how abuse affects people, right?”

“I’ve tried to be patient with him, but he makes it impossible to be nice to him.” Mark snaps, Jinwoo has woken up and is now holding Changkyun who’s sobbing, his whole body shaking with every breath. Mark’s expression softens and he deflates, relaxing against his friend. “I’m sorry, Changkyun. I don’t know what you’ve gone through but I should know better, I’ll try to not be such a dick.”

Before he can respond, the lights turn on and a bell is rung from the end of the hall, signalling breakfast time. Mark and Wonwoo grab the table from the other corner, Hyunjin grabs the pillows and Jinwoo grabs the utensils. They sit around the table awkwardly, Mark doesn’t meet Changkyun’s eyes, ashamed of how cruel he’s being.

He’s seen first hand how abuse can change somebody, he’s seen his confident, loud boyfriend crumble, crying and apologizing as Mark holds him. He saw how Jisung changed after Irene brought him home, how that goofy kid turned into a scared teenager. He himself dealt with neglect from his mother, verbal abuse from his stepfather.

Mark despises that he’s grown so short tempered, just because Changkyun is an asshole a majority of the time doesn’t mean he deserves to be treated like shit, not again. Donghyuck would be disappointed in him, that’s enough to force Mark to reevaluate.

Outside, Mark stays alone, Hyunjin glued to his side like he has been since the first day. Sometimes people from gangs will approach, making an offer. They always look disappointed or surprised to see the NCT tattoo on his hip, sometimes they try to push further though and that’s what he whispers his brother is the leader.

After the first year, people have stopped even looking toward him, his reputation scarier than the sight of the now eighteen year old with shaggy hair, worn out shoes and cigarette between his lips.

When Donghyuck visits, Mark’s facade melts away, he smiles and blushes and giggles. Those that visit at the same time spread rumours, they tell others that Mark has a weakness, that they could get a hit out if Mark slips up. Obviously they don’t know why Mark is there, they don’t know that he can do whatever he wants outside of the walls of the prison, one word and Donghyuck disappears.

“I heard you got a bitch outside,” An older man, Mark’s heard people call him Siwon, says as he sits across from Mark. Hyunjin’s eyes widen, the old man has a reputation as well. Siwon is in for white collar crimes, smuggling, extortion, things where he didn’t get his hands dirty. That changed though, people singled him out and eventually he needed to toughen up. “How do you know he’ll be safe while you’re in here?”

“You threaten him and the guard will have to wash your blood off this table,” Mark says simply, he pulls a cigarette from his pocket, sliding it behind his ear as he eats the bad sandwich. Siwon smirks, glancing to Hyunjin who avoids his eyes. “Don’t look at him, he can’t help you. If you even approach him, I’ll knock your teeth out.”

“How old are you, kid? You know I’m older than you, respect your elders.”

“I’m eighteen,” Mark answers with a shrug, passing his small carton of milk to Hyunjin. “You don’t deserve my respect, I’ve heard about you and honestly, you don’t seem to be anything special. You use your age, status, and money to get your way. I’m sure half the guys in this cafeteria would nut at the thought of you dying, too bad I’ll be taking that honour.”

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“I’m just saying the truth, I don’t have any reason to be afraid of you. There’s nothing you can do that would scare me,” Mark says smirking, Siwon looks to Hyunjin again in a way that makes the boy’s skin crawl. “I think you should get going, hyung. We aren’t friends, I don’t want to give anybody the wrong idea.”

“You and I will be seeing each other again, kid.” Siwon stands, squeezing his shoulder as he passes by. Mark glances over his shoulder, rolling his eyes as the man goes to another table, this one fully.

“Fucking creep.”

~~~~~

“Mr Bae,” Donghyuck bows to his honorary grandfather, Mr Bae smiles and gestures for him to take a seat. “Thank you for meeting with me, I think I finally got the evidence to get them out of prison. All my father’s case had was a handful of circumstances, nothing concrete. There was obviously evidence that noona and Mark didn’t like him, the fact that he’s been beating me my whole life was hardly noted.

“Noona had been accused of being involved with Seungri’s death, that made it probable that if that was true then she’d have a hand in this. But they didn’t have the proof for that.” Donghyuck gets worked up, he takes a breath to try and calm himself as he passes papers to the man. “Mark’s a good kid, he’s never been in trouble before this. My father used the fact that his brother is rumoured to be the leader of a gang to paint him poorly, everything was speculation and somehow the jury decided it was valid.”

“So what do you think happened?” Mr Bae asks, crossing his arms as he leans back, watching the boy curiously.

“I think it’s quite obvious what happened, my father paid off the jury. He has the finances, he has the connections for it to be done under the radar. If I can get access to his financial records, then I’ll be able to find an irregularity. He’s not as smart as he thinks he is, he doesn’t like asking for help so he probably threatened somebody.” Donghyuck explains, tapping the file in front of him with the pen he brought. Doyoung has always told him to never go anywhere without one, speaking with one makes you appear smarter and more put together.

“Anybody you’d find to look at the records would be suspicious, if they have a tie to you then they’ll be rejected. You need to find somebody in your pocket that nobody sees,” Mr Bae says simply, Donghyuck has never had a meaningful conversation with the man before, but he can see where Irene got that professional tone from. “If you want to call a retrial, you need to have ‘neutral’ parties that can prove you’re right.”

“I have a financial advisor-”

“Were they ever at the courthouse at the same time you were?” Mr Bae interrupts, Donghyuck needs to pause, trying to remember if Jaehyun ever came to the trial. Taeyong and Johnny had, they were there for Mark and Johnny had brought Jisung those last few days.

“No, he never was. He’s Mark’s brother in law though, but their families haven’t acknowledged Taeyong and Jaehyun’s relationship so other than their private social media accounts, nobody has any evidence he knows us personally.” Donghyuck tells him, he bites his lip as he thinks, twisting the ring on his ring finger anxiously. “But the judge could be biased too, they’re already in prison so whatever they’ve done in there could be used against them.”

“What do you think they’ve done?” Mr Bae questions, he knows full well what his daughter is capable of, of course he does. He’s seen up close the damage she does, he raised her after all.

“Threatened people, they probably have mentioned their connections to gangs. Mark has a tattoo that’s hard to hide, he would’ve had to mention it at least once this past year. Not to mention that noona’s name is enough for people to be scared, everybody knows who Irene Bae is.” Donghyuck explains, Mr Bae nods slowly, thinking this over as well. “If they ask their cellmates, it could go one of two ways. The other prisoners could lie and say that noona and Mark were model prisoners, that they never hinted at any violent tendencies. Or they could tell the truth.”

“You’ve spent a lot of time with my daughter, you know how smart she is.”

“Yes, but I also know how proud she is.” Donghyuck replies, Irene keeps her mouth shut when needed, but if disrespected she can’t help it. Right now, she’s locked up, away from her family, she has nothing to do but read and work out. If she hasn’t expressed her abilities, her name alone would give her away. “She can’t hide who she is in a prison, everybody with a connection to the crime community knows her. She’s made a name for herself.”

“I always told her to stop reaching out, that’s how she gets in trouble like this.” Mr Bae mutters, he sighs and looks out the tall windows, watching a flock of birds fly by. “How are we going to get them out then?”

“By exposing my father.”

~~~~~

“We figured it out, Mr Bae and I met this week and we figured everything out. He gave me Henry-hyung’s number so I can meet with him too, he’s noona’s digger. With what I know about my father and hyung’s skills, we’ll be able to get him locked up for a long time.” Donghyuck tells Mark excitedly, proud of himself for finding a solution. But Mark doesn’t seem to think it’s good news. Donghyuck’s smile falls, his shoulders drop and he bites his lip. “What’s- what’s wrong?”

“I think we should break up.” Mark says simply, Donghyuck freezes, trying to find something to say, trying to see if he’s kidding. But he doesn’t laugh, so Donghyuck does. There’s nothing else he can do. “I’m serious, Hyuck.”

“Why-? Did I do something? I’m sorry- I didn’t mean-” Donghyuck can’t breath, this is insane. His mind spins with everything he’s done, what he’s done wrong, every time he’s ever been pushy or annoying. “Where is this coming from, Minhyungie?”

“Don’t-” Mark sighs, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair, trying to think of the right words. “This isn’t good for either of us, Hyuck. I’m not the same guy I was a year ago, you aren’t either. You have a long life ahead of you, if we’re being realistic I’m gonna be locked up for another ten years, maybe less with parole.”

“I don’t care-”

“You should.” Mark cuts him off, Donghyuck’s expression is full of pain, but Mark knew it was coming. Donghyuck loves unconditionally, it’s his only flaw. “Try to get noona out, it was all my idea and I dragged her along. Simple as that. Look, Hyuck, we’re done. I don’t want this anymore, I don’t want you.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Minhyung.” Donghyuck has tears in his eyes, he caught the hesitation before those last words. He heard the way Mark’s voice quivered. “I know you better than anyone else, you’re a horrible liar and you know it!”

“Keep your voice done or you’ll be removed.” The supervising guard snaps, Donghyuck apologizes, leaning forward to meet Mark’s eyes.

“Why are you doing this? Don’t give me some bullshit that you’re protecting me, you know I can protect myself. Why are you doing this so suddenly?” Donghyuck questions, Mark lets out a slow breath, glancing around and making eye contact with Changkyun. “Answer me, you can’t just do this to me.”

“I said what I said, Hyuck. I don’t want to be with you anymore, there’s nothing more to it.” Mark tells him again, meeting his eyes to try and enforce how serious he is. When Donghyuck opens his mouth again, he groans and shushes him. “Hyuck, I don’t love you anymore. I haven’t for a while.”

“You don’t- you don’t love me?” Donghyuck pales, he falls against the back of the chair like he was struck. He shakes his head, stammering nonsense as he tries to understand. “What happened to you saying you loved me more than anything? All those times you said it, meant nothing? Nothing at all? Were you just stringing me along? Were you using me to get to noona? To gain a reputation amongst your friends? Was any of it- was any of it real?”

“Hyuck-”

“Don’t- don’t call me that.” Donghyuck pulls away from Mark, holding his arms to his chest like he’s ready to defend himself. “You say you don’t love me anymore, when did it stop? Did it stop after I ran myself ragged trying to prove your innocence? After I’ve spent the whole year worrying about you? After the dozen times I've come to visit? When?”

“I don’t know, Hy- Donghyuck. Just happened.” Mark shrugs, unable to meet his eyes. Donghyuck takes in a sharp breath, he can’t keep the tears hidden anymore. “Don’t cry-”

“You don’t get to care about me, not anymore.” Donghyuck stands, the chair scraping against the concrete ground. He looks at his friend one last time, but he doesn’t deserve his words.

~~~~~

“Jae, I need you to pick me up.” Donghyuck stands at the bus stop down the road from the prison, wiping his tears with the sleeve of his cardigan, cursing at himself for ruining his makeup. “I don’t want to go home right now. I can’t.”

“I- okay, I’m coming. Give me ten minutes.” Jaemin agrees, Donghyuck hears shuffling through the receiver then a car starts. He lays in the grass, eyes shut, letting the warmth of the sun wash over him. “Hyuck, what happened?”

Donghyuck looks up, blinking away sleep as Jaemin pulls him to his feet. His friend looks disheveled, he rushed here. For his defense, Donghyuck gave a very vague request that must’ve scared him. “Mark broke up with me.”

“He did what-?” Jaemin exclaims, looking to the direction of the prison. Donghyuck grabs his hand, stopping him from leaving. He turns back, his anger melts away to concern as he sees how broken his friend is. “Let’s go somewhere, I’ll drive anywhere for you.”

“I don’t care where, I need to get away.” Donghyuck admits, Jaemin nods, not asking any more questions as he races down the empty road. He lets his friend play music, wanting to see him smile at least once. He makes sharp turns going too fast, tearing up the dried up field under his tires.

This used to make Donghyuck hysteric, he’d laugh so hard he’d tear up, like when he goes on rollercoasters. But now, there’s no reaction. Donghyuck is looking out his window expressionless, occasionally sniffling and wiping at his eyes.

This gets too much for Jaemin to ignore, he stops the car, shuts the music off and grabs Donghyuck’s hand. “Tell me whatever’s on your chest.”

Donghyuck sighs, looking at the silver rings adorning his fingers and shaking his head. He pulls off the several rings, dropping them in Jaemin’s cup holders and slouching in his seat. “He said he doesn’t love me. I’ve visited him twice a month for a little less than a year, now he’s saying he doesn’t love me. I know, deep down, I know he’s saying it because he doesn’t want me getting too attached if my plan doesn’t work. But to hear- to hear the one you love say that they don’t want you, I- it’s too much.”

“He said that?” Jaemin asks, searching for tissues or napkins as Donghyuck starts crying again. He gives up, deciding to just push the armrests up and drag Donghyuck into his arms, hugging him tight. Donghyuck sobs into his shoulder, body shaking as Jaemin rubs his back, trying to assure him of anything. “Hyuck, you didn’t deserve that. I’m sure Mark has his reasons, but this is bullshit.”

“I know, he’s a horrible liar and when he said he didn’t love me- he couldn’t meet my eyes. He loves me, I know he does.” Donghyuck mumbles, voice muffled in Jaemin’s shoulder. “He thinks I can’t protect myself, it’s fucking bullshit. I’ve kicked his ass before and I’d do it again, but I don’t know why he felt like he had to say those things.”

“I don’t know either, but he’s an asshole.” Jaemin growls, Donghyuck shakes his head immediately. “Fine, I get you love him but you have to admit it was a dick move. He can’t get away with treating you like that.”

“But-”

“I don’t care if he ‘doesn’t mean it’, he still said it.” Jaemin tells him, Donghyuck leans back in his chair and sighs, eyes shutting tight. “I know you love him, but Hyuck, you had a life before him.”

“I had a routine. I went to school, I went to work, I’d drink, skate, work, paint, then I’d go home. I felt numb all the damn time, it got better when I moved, but Mark helped so much.” Donghyuck rambles, unable to catch his breath. Jaemin sighs, he can’t change how Donghyuck views himself no matter how hard he tries. It breaks his heart. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, he told me to stop trying to get him out. That’s all I’ve been focusing on for this last year, what am I going to do now?”

“Donghyuck, I know you. You’re still going to work to get them out,” Jaemin says petting his friend’s hair, Donghyuck deflates against his seat, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “You are more than just Mark, I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but you are. Why don’t we go on a trip? My family’s beach house in Jeju is empty, the semester is almost over so who cares if we miss the week.”

“Your parents would kill you if you skipped,” Donghyuck reminds him, Jaemin shrugs, mumbling how he doesn’t care if they get mad. Donghyuck rolls his eyes, knowing how dramatic his friend is. “That sounds nice though, I don’t want to think about him.”

“Then it's a plan, we leave Monday at lunch.”

~~~~~~

“Oh lovely,” Seulgi pets his hair, she had known something was wrong the moment he stepped into the house. When Wendy asked if he was okay, he broke down sobbing. He explained what happened to them, unable to hide anything from them. “I know this hurts, but he’s doing this for a reason he thinks makes sense, whenever he realizes he was an idiot, he’ll backtrack.”

“But why did he do it?” Donghyuck cries, Wendy wipes his tears with her sleeve, muttering about killing Mark when he gets out of prison.

“I don’t know, lovely, but I know he thinks it's a good reason.” Seulgi tries to assure him, knowing that Mark wouldn’t make a rash decision, especially not when it comes to Donghyuck.

“I’ll go see him, I’ll talk to him.” Wendy tells them, Donghyuck shakes his head, grabbing her hand. “I need to know why-”

“He said he doesn’t love me, he doesn’t want to be with me anymore. He- he doesn’t love me.” Donghyuck mumbles, they both gasp, looking to each other surprised. He stands up, wiping his tears and saying he has to pack. “Jaemin and I are going to Jeju for the week, I’ll get my schoolwork down when we get back.”

“I- okay,” Seulgi says, face scrunched with concern as he stumbles up the stairs, still crying quietly. Wendy sighs, relaxing against the couch, arm around Seulgi who’s still looking after him. “Why did Mark do that? He knows what Donghyuck is like, he must’ve known how hard this would’ve been for him.”

“I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” Wendy tells her, she shakes her head and the canadian shrugs. “I’ll drop by this week to talk to him, he needs to explain himself. If he won’t tell Donghyuck, he will tell me.”

~~~~~~

“Oh- Ms Son,” Mark says confused, he bows before taking his seat in the private visiting room. He glances back to the guards on the other side of the door, keeping an ear out in case somebody screams. “What’re you doing here?”

“You know exactly why I’m here.” Wendy tells him sharply, she crosses her arms and raises a brow, staring him down. Mark has come face to face with plenty of terrifying people, but Wendy is something else entirely. They aren’t here as Donghyuck’s noona and his boyfr- ex, they’re there as criminals with an issue, ready to talk it out. “Why? Don’t give me that ‘i don’t love him’ bullshit, you and I both know that’s not true. If you sit here and lie to me, I’m leaving, I’ll find answers on my own.”

“Noona, I can’t tell you-”

“Don’t spout that shit, tell me or not. Don’t play that fucking game,” Wendy snaps, slamming her hand against the metal table. The guards outside jolt, opening the door quickly. She tells them they’re fine, to shut the door and leave them alone. “You broke his heart, Mark. He sobbed for hours, I checked on him after he went to bed and he was still crying in his sleep. You broke him.”

“I had to,” Mark says, shutting his eyes, head dropping forwards. Wendy stays quiet for a moment, confused by his answer. “There’s this older guy in here, Choi Siwon, he threatened Donghyuck. I didn’t take it seriously at first, he’s like fourty and in here for insurance fraud, he’s not exactly an Al Capone type. But then I got pictures in the mail, pictures of Donghyuck.”

“What?” Wendy exclaims, angry that this asshole decided he could use Donghyuck to get to Mark, that he thought he could get away with threatening him.

“It was Hyuck walking to Doyoung-hyung’s firm, him running to the bus stop, him coming home from the art supply store with a canvas.” Mark lists off, Wendy scrunches her face, thinking of the last time he got a canvas. Her eyes widen when she realizes it was last week. “Then it was Donghyuck at a park by himself, him studying in a library, him leaving Lights Out with Jongin-hyung, him going into Peek-A-Boo, then him at home, asleep.”

“What the fuck-”

“Obviously this guy isn’t fucking around, I pissed him off and he went after Donghyuck. He said he’d kill him if he ever came into the prison again, my only solution was to break up with him. He wouldn’t come back if I broke up with him,” Mark says, voice cracking as he speaks, a tear slipping despite him trying to hide it. “Siwon would always be in the visiting room at the same time, I couldn’t even warn Donghyuck. I’d sit there, listening to him talk about something and behind him, Siwon would be staring at us.”

“His name is Choi Siwon?” Wendy asks, wanting to know it so she can hunt him down. Mark nods, he mentions again that he’s there for insurance fraud. “Insurance fraud, huh? Greedy bastard, I’ll think of a way to stop him. How do you know he was serious about killing Hyuck? He’s in prison, he can’t get away with trying that.”

“In the visiting rooms, prisoners pass by tables and if Siwon tried hard enough, he could get close to Donghyuck. If he managed to sneak in a weapon, probably made from a toothbrush, he could stab Hyuck, if he hits the wrong spot, Hyuck could bleed out before paramedics get there.” Mark explains, Wendy nods slowly, nauseous at the thought. “If I decided to take his threat lightly, Donghyuck would already be dead.”

“Fucking bastard,” Wendy says under her breath, curious as to why this man is focusing on Mark. “How did you piss him off?”

“I told him to leave me alone, that if he went after Donghyuck or Hyunjin I’d break his teeth, and I did. Then he started sending the photos of him sleeping,” Mark says, his bruised knuckles drawing her attention. “I got put in isolation for two weeks.”

“This guy is a fucking tool, isn’t he? I bet he doesn’t get his hands dirty,” Wendy speculates, Mark nods, knowing defense isn’t what she means. “I’ll take care of it, Mark. But you need to figure your shit out too, you better think of the perfect fucking apology. If Irene hears what you did…”

“I know, I know I fucked up. But I had to, if I didn't, Siwon would’ve killed him. I couldn’t live with myself knowing I was the reason he died, I’d rather have Donghyuck hate me than have Donghyuck dead.” Mark snaps, Wendy stares him down, but he doesn’t back down. He knows what he did was wrong, but he did have reasons for it. Despite this, he can’t take it back. Siwon would kill Donghyuck, and Donghyuck needs time to heal. “Please, tell Donghyuck what happened, tell him why I did it. Please tell him I still love him, I didn’t want to do it but I had to.”

“Mark, I don’t think it’s that easy.” Wendy shakes her head, heart clenching when his head falls forward in shame, tears falling onto the metal table. She reaches out, taking his hands and shutting her eyes for a moment. “I’ll try, but he’s on a trip with Jaemin this week. I don’t want to upset him, I’ll talk to him when he gets back.”

“I- okay, thank you, Ms Son.” Mark blinks his tears away, he shakes his head, laughing at how foolish he feels. Wendy’s expression has grown soft, the rage she showed when she arrived has dissolved into pity and understanding. “I have to go, Siwon will get suspicious. I can’t deal with him today.”

“I understand, Mark. I’ll take care of this, I promise.” Wendy assures him, they stand up and she hugs him, petting his hair gently. She forgets that he’s just a child sometimes, she forgets that he’s almost the age she was when she was in prison, but she doesn’t forget what she went through. Mark is smarter than she was, he speaks the language better, he has connections to dangerous people. Nobody would dare touch him, but those he cares about aren’t off limits it seems.

~~~~~

Jisung sits at the end of the bar at Lights Out, Wendy has a match today and Seulgi is dancing at Peek-A-Boo so he had to go with the Canadian. He sets his open notebook on the counter, mumbling equations as he tries to finish his problems.

“Hey kid, what’re you doing?” Chanyeol asks, Jisung looks up and smiles at his hyung. The elder has been nice to him since he moved in with the noonas, Jisung doesn’t know how Chanyeol got so close with them, but he doesn’t question it.

“Math, I hate it.” Jisung complains, deflating against the bar. Chanyeol laughs, grabbing a stool and sitting next to him. “How do you and Irene-noona know each other? Donghyuck-hyung has never told me, I don’t think he knows either.”

“I don’t think he remembers, noona and I don’t mention it a lot. She’s my sister, half sister. Mr Bae had an affair with my mum and whenever he travelled to Eunpyeong Gu when I still lived there, noona would stay with us, she took care of me a lot when I was growing up.” Chanyeol explains, Jisung’s eyes widen, surprised at the relation. “I know, it’s surprising. When noona first got the club, she gave jobs to me and a bunch of my friends. But she didn’t know they were my friends when she offered Minseok-hyung, and hyung didn’t know she was my sister.”

“That’s weird, I think I see it though. You both have the same face,” Jisung says gesturing to him, Chanyeol laughs, making Jisung feel accomplished. He always felt good when he’d make Donghyuck smile or laugh, he knew that his brother was always upset or angry so changing that made him feel proud. “It’s weird that everybody knows each other though, even accidentally. Like, Irene-noona has pictures of Johnny-hyung as a teenager with Taeyong-hyung, then hyung was dating Mark-hyung. It's like their lives were tangled together before they even met.”

“Yeah, but noona has always liked taking care of lost kids. It’s her one weakness,” Chanyeol says putting an arm around him, Jisung stifles a yawn and leans into his side. Chanyeol helps the teen with his homework, laughing and teasing him to get him to cheer up.

Wendy and Seulgi have been worried about both of the boys, Jisung had been protected from the brunt of the abuse his whole life until Donghyuck was out of the picture. Then he was taken out of his home, brought into a new one where he was shown love for the first time in his life. He finally had his brother and they were safe, now Donghyuck is all over the place worrying about Mark and Irene. His life was changed wildly overnight, quite literally.

“Hey kiddo,” Wendy says smiling, she won her fight with a broken wrist and bruised cheekbone. “I gotta run over to Kun’s place, can you drop Jisung off at the house for me?”

“Oh, noona, can I go to Chenle’s house for a sleepover? I don’t have school tomorrow and his parents are okay with it,” Jisung says quickly, Wendy sighs as she thinks, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Please?”

“I mean, I’m not a huge fan of you staying at somebody else’s house, especially somebody who’s parents I haven’t met yet.” Wendy muses, Jisung pouts cutely, puffing his cheeks. “I guess, you should text Seulgi that you’re going then. I do want to meet Chenle’s parents though, just so I feel better with you being over there.”

“Okay, I can talk to Mr Zhong about it. I guess you and noona are my guardians now, that’s kind of weird.” Jisung giggles, Chanyeol smiles at the boy and carefully wraps Wendy’s wrist. “Do I call you my guardians? Or my… noonas? This is a weird situation to be in, Mr Zhong is the head of a law firm, he’d know right away if anything is weird.”

“Just tell him that one of your guardians wants to meet with him, you can show him a picture of me if he wants. I know how some people can be, just don’t tell him I’m a convicted criminal.” Wendy grins, Jisung smiles when she ruffles his hair. “You’re a good kid, don’t forget that.”

“Okay, noona.” Jisung laughs when she hugs him tight, he’s still not used to people praising him. Donghyuck had always treated him well, but that’s because they’re brothers. Now that he lives with Donghyuck and his noonas, he feels like people actually care about him. It’s strange, even Chenle seems happier with this new arrangement. They can actually spend time together without fearing a parent walking in and scolding them for being too loud. “You should go see this Kun person, your wrist is gonna heal weird if you don’t.”

“Okay, I love you, Sungie. Don’t be too loud with the Zhongs, if they get annoyed you two can come to our place. Do you have your keys?” Wendy asks, Jisung nods and holds them out, she smiles and kisses his cheek. “Good boy, have fun with Chenle today. I love you.”

“I- I love you too, noona.” Jisung mumbles, she grins wider than he’s seen in a long time. He’s still new with affection and telling people he loves them, but Seulgi and Wendy are helping him get over it. Wendy leaves, dragging Yixing to drive her, she waves back at Jisung again just to see him smile. “She’s so weird.”

“She doesn’t have a good relationship with her family, her sister is the one that called the cops on her. They both killed the guy that was assaulting them, but her big sister acted like Wendy forced her into it.” Chanyeol tells him quietly, Jisung gasps softly, not expecting that. “Her family came to Korea last year, her sister started drama like usual and Wendy snapped at her. Her parents have always favoured Chaeyoung over her, it’s kind of ruined their relationship way before this even happened.”

“I get that, our parents would pin me and hyung against each other when we were younger. Donghyuck didn’t care what they had to say though, he told me not to listen to them. Hyung was the only person that really cared about me, even my mum was just using me.” Jisung tells him, feeling comfortable enough to talk to Chanyeol about this. “Chenle was my only friend growing up, the other kids knew my mum was a teacher and that hyung was different. Chenle’s parents didn’t like him hanging out with me, he’s stubborn though.”

“I think he just likes you, Sungie. You’re a good kid, it makes sense that you’d have a loyal friend like that. Having a messed up family is hard, I know that from experience. But I got good friends, in college I met Baekhyun and we’ve been together for five years now.” Chanyeol smiles, finding his boyfriend in the crowd. Baekhyun is dancing on a table, obviously drunk from the way he sways. “I love him so much, but his parents aren’t fans of him being gay. My mum doesn’t care, and Mr Bae doesn’t either considering his daughter is also gay.”

“I just wish my family was so fucked up, I wish I could spend time with my friends without their parents hating me.” Jisung sighs, scratching his hand as he thinks. “It’s frustrating, I used to be able to do what I wanted because my mum focused on hyung, my friends’ parents didn’t care what I did because they thought I was normal. Now, hyung is falling apart and my step dad is off doing god knows what because he thinks he’s a free man. I ruined hyung’s life, I had to come along and fuck it all up-”

“Don’t say that,” Chanyeol says sharply, startling the young boy. “You didn’t ruin it, things happen and it just resulted that way. I know how you feel, but you’re not the reason these things happened. Look at me, Jisung. You’re not a bad kid, you were just in a bad situation.”

“But…” Jisung trails off, eyes filling with tears as the elder hugs him tight. Chanyeol just holds him as he shuts his eyes tight, Jisung refuses to cry here in the club. Chanyeol doesn’t ask anything, he doesn’t push him to speak or move. They just sit there, arms wrapped around each other.

“Tell me when you’re ready to go, okay? I’ll drive you to Chenle’s house whenever you want,” Chanyeol says ruffling his hair affectionately, Jisung nods, wiping his eyes as he smiles. “You’re a good kid, don’t forget that.”

~~~~~~

“Donghyuck, want to come to my house for a party tonight?” Lucas asks, the pair had bumped into each other at the grocery store, Donghyuck was picking up supplies to make a cake to cheer Jisung up. “It’s small, it’ll be me, Jungwoo, Yuqi, her girlfriend and their friends. Mark had said you don’t like big crowds-”

“Don’t- please don’t say his name,” Donghyuck says quietly, Lucas’ expression turns into one of surprise, then empathy. “He broke up with me, I’d rather not talk about him.”

“Okay, we won’t talk about him.” Lucas promises, he smiles softly when Donghyuck lets out a sigh of relief. “If you come we’ll have a couple drinks, probably watch a shitty movie too. It’ll be chill, I’ll pick up some pizza too. Do you think you could make it?”

“I don’t know, I was supposed to hang out with my brother.”

“Bring him too, we’ll be appropriate. How old is he?”

“Fifteen.” Donghyuck answers, thinking about if Jisung would be okay with so many new people. “I’ll talk to Wendy-noona, if she thinks it’s okay then yeah, we’ll be there around six.”

“Sounds great, see you later Hyuck.” Lucas grins, putting a hand on his shoulder before grabbing the bag of doritos from the shelf. Donghyuck laughs as he walks away, his long legs helping him travel faster than Donghyuck could do running.

Lucas was a friend he made through Mark, but Donghyuck doesn’t want to only be known as Mark’s boyfriend.

Donghyuck liked talking to Lucas, he liked being able to have a friend that understood being connected to gangs without being too far involved. He liked talking to Yuqi, who knew what he was thinking without him doing anything.

He hopes Jisung likes them too.

~~~~~

Donghyuck knows on the door to Lucas’ house, to his left Jisung is trying to smooth out the invisible wrinkles on his shirt. When Wendy agreed to letting them go out, she said Jisung needed to bring Chenle too. So now Donghyuck is babysitting his brother and his friend, two loud kids in a house full of gang members.

“Hey Hyuck, who’re these?” Yuqi answers the door holding a beer bottle, her long wavy hair is in two space buns and her makeup is light. She’s pretty, but she was before. “I’m Song Yuqi, Lucas’ cousin.”

“This is Jisung, he’s my brother. That’s Zhong Chenle, Jisung’s friend.” Donghyuck tells her, she opens the door for them to come in. Donghyuck immediately heads to the kitchen, the boys following him. They don’t know anybody other than him so they’re going to stick close to him, of course Donghyuck understands this anxiety. “Hey hyung.”

“Hyuck! You made it!” Lucas exclaims hugging him, Donghyuck laughs and hugs him back, struggling to wrap his arms around his neck. “I’ll introduce you to the girls, they’re super sweet and you’ll love them. Which one is your brother?”

“I am, I’m Park Jisung.” The boy bows, looking to Chenle for help. “This is Zhong Chenle, he’s my friend.”

“Pizza’s here!” Another girl shouts, she’s got long black hair with blond streaks, she smiles at the newcomers. “I’m Minnie, let’s go to the living room. Wanna grab me a beer?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jisung stammers, Donghyuck clicks his tongue disapprovingly as his brother goes to open the fridge.

“You’re fifteen, don’t you dare.” Donghyuck scolds, grabbing two beers and gesturing for them to follow the girl into the living room. On the couches, there are now six girls along with Jungwoo and Lucas.

“Come sit, Donghyuck.” Yuqi waves them over, the three of them curl up beside her in the corner, Jisung smiling when Chenle grabs the blanket and wraps them with it. “This is my girlfriend, Soyeon. That’s Soojin and Shushua, Minnie and Miyeon. You know Woo and Lucas obviously.”

“You were on unpretty rapstar!” Jisung exclaims, startling Donghyuck who hasn’t heard him speak this loudly in years. “You were so cool, I voted for you everytime- I can’t believe I'm meeting you.”

“Oh, hi. You’re Donghyuck’s brother, Jisung right?” Soyeon asks, her short black hair is slightly disheveled and her thick eyeliner smudged. She looks like a rapper, it makes sense she was on a show like Unpretty Rapstar. “I don’t normally meet fans, how old are you?”

“I’m-I’m fifteen years old,” Jisung stammers, Chenle snickers, earning an elbow to the stomach. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable-”

“It’s okay kid, it's cute.” Soyeon smirks, Jisung turns red and hides his face in his hands. Donghyuck coos at him, petting his hair gently. “What movie are we going to watch?”

~~~~

Donghyuck has too much to drink, he knows it as he finishes his fourth bottle. Jisung had tried to stop him, but cowered away when Donghyuck snapped at him to leave him alone.

Lucas is the one that silently leads him up to an empty bedroom, gently pushing Donghyuck to siti as he gets him a glass of water. “Donghyuck, what are you trying to avoid?”

“Nothing- just leave me alone.” Donghyuck refuses to drink the water, instead laying on his front and groaning. “Tell Jisung I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at him.”

“I think he knows already, but why did you drink so much?” Lucas asks, kneeling to the side of the bed quietly. Donghyuck doesn’t talk, he doesn’t look over to him either. “I know you’re upset about M- about him, when I visited him last he cried. He did it to protect you.”

“I don’t want to talk about him, I told you this. I’m trying to move on, he said he didn’t love me so I’m trying not to love him.” Donghyuck shouts, sitting up with tears in his eyes. “He lied to me for weeks, he said he loved me when he didn’t. He’s a fucking asshole that strung me along until he decided to just break up with me, he broke my fucking heart for what reason? To protect me from dating a criminal? It’s fucking bullshit!”

“Donghyuck, you need to breathe.” Lucas instructs, holding his hands and breathing deeply until the younger follows. Donghyuck had begun hyperventilating, stammering about how unfair it was and how much of an asshole Mark is. Lucas just holds him, trying to ground him. “I know you’re mad at Mark, but I- I know how much he loves you. I doubt he had intended to hurt you, you are the most important person in his life.”

“He doesn’t fucking act like it.” Donghyuck spits, Lucas sighs and kisses his knuckles, wanting to comfort him in anyway he can. Donghyuck shuts his eyes, Lucas presses their foreheads together and wipes away more tears. “My head hurts.”

“Let’s lay down, okay? I’ll stay with you, let me just go tell Jungwoo.” Lucas tells him softly, when he stands and leaves, Donghyuck cries harder.

Yet again he’s ruining somebody’s life.

Lucas was just being nice when he invited Donghyuck over, he didn’t want to deal with this bullshit.

Donghyuck kicks off his jeans before crawling under the blanket and facing the wall, he curls up and wipes his tears when he hears Lucas return. The taller does the same, shedding his jeans before turning off the light and laying beside him. After a moment, Lucas pulls him into his arms.

“Is Jungwoo okay with this?”

“He knows we’re friends, he trusts me and you.” Lucas tells him, Donghyuck nods, turning over to hide his face in the elder’s chest. Lucas pets his hair gently, he holds him like a brother, like how Donghyuck holds Jisung when the younger is sick. “Donghyuck, you’re like a brother to me, I just want you to be happy. If being happy means not talking about- y’know, then I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“I don’t deserve your kindness, hyung.” Donghyuck whispers, Lucas shakes his head and hugs him tighter. “I’m sorry- I’m sorry I always ruin things, I wish I didn’t, I’m trying to stop-”

“Hey, you aren’t ruining anything. You’re my friend, I want you to be happy and safe. I will do anything it takes to keep you happy, if you need me to do anything, let me know.” Lucas tells him, Donghyuck tries to sit up but Lucas keeps him laying down. “Get some sleep, Hyuck. Jisung and Chenle are gonna crash in the room across the hall, the girls are staying here too. You guys can stay however long you want, you’re family.”

~~~~~~

“Mr Choi, I’m Wendy Son from Bae Enterprise.” Wendy greets, nodding to the guards to leave them in the private room alone. As soon as the door shuts she drops the bag and sits down, smiling as he slowly sits as well. “Look, I’m a friend of Mark Lee. I heard you’re threatening my little brother-”

“You have no proof-”

“I don’t need proof, I’m not taking this to court. Nobody other than the three of us will know, and that’s because it's going to stop. Right here, right now.” Wendy cuts him off, looking to the cameras with a smirk. “If you don’t like that suggestion, I’ll make a different one.”

“Listen lady, I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but it was a mistake giving me your name.” Siwon grins, Wendy rolls her eyes and sighs, always annoyed by the confidence of men. “I have enough connections to have you dead before you reach your house-”

“It’s cute you think you’re scary, I’ve seen scary, I’m dating scary. You are not scary, you’re just a man with insecurities that thinks everybody that challenges you deserves to be put in their place. It’s just that sometimes, most times actually, their place is above yours.” Wendy says with a sweet smile, laughing when he slams his hands onto the metal table. She shakes her head when the guard looks in, checking if she needs help. “I’ve been in your position, I’ve been imprisoned but for a crime I didn’t have any control of. I was innocent enough, you however, even if you started innocent you’ve corrupted yourself.”

“What does a whore like you want from a businessman like me?”

“I want you to stop acting like you’re important, you leave Mark Lee alone.” Wendy stands, pressing her palms against the cool table and stares him down. Siwon seems to understand how serious she is, but he starts laughing. She sighs, wandering over to knock on the door. Two prison guards walk in and grab Siwon’s arms and hold him up, he struggles to get away but they hold him tight. “I don’t appreciate being laughed at.”

“You’re just another whore-” Wendy punches him, hard enough to make his knees give out. She smiles, taking off her ring and letting it unfold into brass knuckles. It was a gift from Irene when she got out of prison. “This isn’t legal.”

“I know it’s not, but when have you ever cared about the law?” Wendy mocks, striking him again, this time a crack echoes in the room and his nose begins to bleed. The guards continue to hold him upright, both enjoying the sight of the most powerful inmate being beaten. “If you don’t leave Mark alone, I’ll kill you myself.”

~~~~~

Donghyuck pushes the cart as Jisung grabs packs of ramen and cheap candy, whining about the lack of treats in the house.

“Seulgi-noona shops when Johnny-hyung can drive her, they grew up together. Kind of.” Donghyuck shrugs, Jisung grabs a box of pop cans and lifts them into the cart, watching his brother curiously. “Both were crackheads, noona helped Johnny dry up and got Seulgi-noona safe. They both lived with noona when they were seventeen, she got them to graduate high school and paid for Johnny’s university. Besides, if Wendy got groceries, we’d be living off whiskey and pancakes.”

“I’m okay with that.” Jisung giggles, Donghyuck rolls his eyes and steers the cart into the produce section, ignoring his little brother’s complaints. “Where did Wendy-noona go? She left early today.”

“I think she went to visit noona,” Donghyuck says as he looks for peppers for dinner tonight, Jisung pouts and sneaks another pack of gummies into the cart when his brother isn’t looking. “Is Chenle coming over tonight?”

“Yeah, is that okay?” Jisung asks, looking at his brother with those puppy eyes of his. Donghyuck nods, ruffling his hair affectionately to ease his nerves. “Thank you hyung.”

“Of course-”

“Donghyuck!” Somebody shouts, startling the boys as they turn, seeing a tall blond guy coming towards them. “I haven’t seen you in forever, you look good. Is this your little brother?”

“Yeah, Jisungie this is Lucas-hyung. Hyung, this is my brother Jisung.” Donghyuck smiles, laughing when Lucas hugs him tight, lifting him off his feet. He hasn’t seen Lucas since his birthday the year before, Donghyuck had been avoiding all of Mark’s friends for a while, not wanting to think of his ex. “How’s Jungwoo-hyung?”

“Still sexy,” Lucas says grinning, Jisung giggles, staring at the floor nervously. “I’m having a party tonight, it might be too crowded but everybody coming is nice. You can bring Jisung, and he can bring a friend if he wants.”

“I-really?” Donghyuck asks, noticing Jisung looks surprised as well. Lucas nods, smiling wide as he throws an arm around each of the brothers. “Okay, we’ll come over around 6?”

“Sounds good, you remember where I live still?”

“Yeah, bye, Hyung.”

~~~~

Jisung holds onto Chenle’s sleeve as they wait for Lucas to answer the door, Donghyuck is humming a song he heard on the way there absently, trying to distract himself from the fear of Mark being brought up. “Hey guys, pizza’s in the kitchen and beer is in the fridge.”

“Can i-”

“Neither of you are drinking, you’re fifteen.” Donghyuck says sharply, Jisung whines, stomping his foot cutely. 

“You’re only eighteen, why are you allowed to drink?” Jisung asks, pouting as they wander to the kitchen, Chenle laughing at how cute he’s being. “You’ve been drinking since you were my age, that’s not fair.”

“I’m really fucked up, Sungie. I don’t want you being an alcoholic by the time you’re my age,” Donghyuck says grabbing a bottle from the fridge, using his ring to pop off the cap. “Get some pizza, listen to some music, don’t do drugs. .”

“Donghyuck, come dance with me.” Jungwoo tells his friend, grabbing his hand and smiling at the younger boys. Jisung blushes at the sight of him, not expecting to see the tall man in a crop top and already a little tipsy. “You boys aren’t allowed to drink, we’ve already told enough people so they’d stop you if you tried.”

“Thank you, hyung.” Donghyuck smiles, giggling when Jisung and Chenle scoff, rolling their eyes at how protective the elder is. Donghyuck follows his hyung to the makeshift dance floor, exclaiming happily when he sees Yuqi. “I’m gonna go dance with her.”

“Okay! Love you,” Jungwoo says kissing his cheek, Donghyuck squeezes his hand and wanders to where Yuqi is drinking and talking with Minnie. Both girls smile and hug him, he notes that they’re both already tipsy. 

“Hyuck, we’ve missed you.” Minnie hugs him tightly, mumbling about his makeup and outfit. Yuqi sips her drink, waiting for the thai girl to find her girlfriend before speaking. “I’m gonna go, love you, Hyuckie.”

“Love you too,” Donghyuck laughs as she stumbles away, turning to Yuqi who’s watching him with sharp eyes. “What? Do I have something on my face? I thought I looked good-”

“We don’t have to talk about it, I just want you to know, I understand your situation.” Yuqi tells him, squeezing his hands gently. He holds her, hugging her tight. He never met her girlfriend, but Yuqi had talked about Soyeon before. She had talked about Soyeon like she was the best thing in the world, and to Yuqi, she was. “Your little brother is adorable.”

“Yeah, he likes to think so.” Donghyuck scoffs, looking to where Jisung is mumbling to Chenle, the Chinese boy smiling and holding his hands. “He’s a sweet kid, he deserves better.”

“I think you make him happy, you make him feel loved. That’s enough,” Yuqi says as a new song starts, he shrugs and sips his beer, smiling when Jisung rests his head on Chenle’s shoulder. “I think he has a good support system.”

“I think so too,” He says grinning, glad somebody else sees how close the two boys are. Jisung needs somebody else, being left alone with his brother - who’s hardly home anymore - or Seulgi and Wendy - who he’s still getting comfortable with realistically - isn’t good for him. He needs to have a balanced social life. “Thank you for being so nice to me.”

“You’re easy to be nice to,” Yuqi smiles as she shrugs, Donghyuck’s smile falters for a moment but he leans into her, shivering slightly despite the humid room. 

All his life, his father was the one telling him how useless and lazy he was, how he didn’t deserve any kindness. His mother tried to show that he deserved more, that the cruelty of his father was directed to him out of resentment for her. 

Donghyuck’s mother dealt with the abuse for a lot longer, she was fifteen years younger than his father and they were married when she turned twenty. He had paid off her family to let him marry her, they were still strangers by the time Donghyuck was born that same year. 

She was too young to have died, barely thirty two years old and her adult life was stolen from her. Donghyuck never knew his grandparents, he wasn’t allowed to. He wasn’t allowed to know anything about his mother’s life, the stories she told were their secrets. 

His mother would tell him about a girl she loved in high school, a girl that painted her every week and gifted them to his mother. In return, she’d write songs to play on her violin. The girl would pick her up from class with her favourite drink, she’d offer her sweater if it was rainy or cold. 

Donghyuck grew up knowing that was true love, that having somebody that adored and protected you is what you should look for. 

When he met Mark, he thought he had it. 

He was just a naive sixteen year old, a year apart means you both change and grow. Donghyuck grew into somebody with confidence, with connections, with the will to do what needs to be done. 

Knowing he can take care of himself is what keeps him going, he doesn’t want to ever be dependent on somebody. He saw how that affected his mother, he doesn’t want to be like that. 

He loves his mother dearly, but her life isn’t what he wants.

~~~~

Mark lays on one of the tables outside, eyes shut as he inhales slow, the cigarette between his lips flaring. Hyunjin snags a smoke from his pocket, meeting the eyes of some boy working out nearby and winking. “Do you think Hyuck will ever forgive me?”

“What? I mean, you randomly broke up with him after he’s spent the last year trying to get you out of prison, not to mention you told him you don’t love him. Donghyuck doesn’t trust, he doubts that people like him let alone love him. You gotta know how cruel that was,” Hyunjin says as he lights the cigarette, smirking when he sits up sharply. “I’m not wrong, you spent months with him. You’ve seen first hand how insecure he is, I’m betting you’ve broken him.”

“Y’know, I came to you to comfort me. I already knew what I did was cruel, I knew it was and I knew it’d hurt him. But I was being sent pictures of him, Siwon was threatening to kill him if I didn’t end it.” Mark snaps, glaring at his friend who just shrugs. Hyunjin was going to visit his parents when he saw Ms Son leaving a private visitors room, in it he saw Siwon laying on the floor, coughing up blood. He didn’t tell anybody what he saw, but he knew she had threatened him and he hadn’t listened. “Of course I still love him, I love him so much it hurts. It nearly killed me to see the look in his eyes when I broke up with him, I wanted to take it back instantly but I can’t. I can’t and it kills me.”

“If you don’t fix your mistake, he might actually move on.” Hyunjin warns, Mark shuts his eyes and exhales slowly, trying not to cry in the prison courtyard. “He’s a good looking guy, he’s going into university and there he won’t be the kid that was kicked out, or the kid who’s boyfriend went to prison, or the kid that’s living with gang members. He’ll have a fresh start and I don’t know how you’ll react to hearing about it.”

“I’ll be happy for him,” Mark says through grit teeth, Hyunjin rolls his eyes but doesn’t get a chance to speak before the elder stands and stomps out his cigarette. “I’m not talking about this anymore, okay? Unless you want to talk about your relationship?”

“Okay, i get it.” Hyunjin laughs, raising his hands up in surrender. “Just remember, if you take too long to explain, he might not need you anymore.”

“I’m leaving.” Mark walks away, ignoring Hyunjin calling out his name. He sits at an empty table and shuts his eyes, hiding his face in his hands as he thinks.

He knows Hyunjin is right, he knows that Donghyuck could easily replace him. It’s his biggest fear, to go back to being a stranger to the man he loves.

Mark doesn’t want to be released from prison and bump into Donghyuck, but the younger acts like they don’t know each other.

Seven years is a long time to be away from each other, especially if Donghyuck is mad at him. Mark won’t get out until he’s twenty five, he’ll be going into first year at university at an age older than most students.

All his friends will have graduated, they’ll have their own lives and jobs and none of them will even remember him.

He’ll be somebody they tell stories about, somebody they used to know that got into trouble with some corrupt people. He did something stupid and got caught.

He’ll just be somebody they see on old instagram posts, or when they look through their photos.

That is what scares him most.