" i'm sorry for leaving so soon "

。。。

donghyuck kept trying to find other ways to save yukhei, but nothing came up. yes, he did already find a way to save the other, and it involved him switching spots with yukhei.

he was struck at a crossroad of his own desires and what his heart was telling him.

if he were to switch spots, yukhei would get the long awaited happiness he deserves. the male had gone through so much just to keep donghyuck safe from the ruler's clutches. this was the least he could do as a repayment.

but, he didn't want to leave either. as selfish as he may sound, he wanted to stay here, where he could finally live in peace. sadly, donghyuck wasn't as selfish as he thought he was.

he slammed his book shut and buried his head into his arms.

"maybe this was your true mission hyuck. maybe this is the price you need to pay for disobeying the rules." he said to himself, losing hope in finding another option.

heaving out a sigh, he picked his head up and stared at the book in front of him.

"this is the only way hyuck. just accept it, your happiness wasn't suppose to last long in this lifetime anyways." and that was his final choice.

there was no going back now.

but, before he literally teleports to his death, he wants to spend as much time as he can with his newfound lover. just for this evening is all he asks. just one last time too take a good look at his heavenly smile, feel his touch, hear his voice.

just a little more happiness, before it's taken away from him completely.

donghyuck made his way to the other's room, peeking inside to see said male just standing near his window, staring out into the distance.

"mark?" he peeped out.

mark flinched, surprised at the sudden voice but that all faded when he realized it was just his pretty fairy.

"hyuck! did you find a way yet?" he asked hopefully.

"n-no, not yet. i'm sorry." but that sorry held a completely different meaning.

'i'm sorry for leaving so soon.'

"it's okay, hyuck. you can try again tomorrow, me and the others can help too. for now, you want to go somewhere to clear your mind? you seem stressed." mark had already walked over to the male, a worried expression on his face.

"a walk would suffice."

"let's go then?" mark held out a hand for the other to take.

donghyuck took ahold on mark's hand, savoring the feeling in the process.

-☀️-

the evening breeze flew past the two, tickling their exposed skin. in comfortable silence, they ventured the city they currently reside in, seoul. people crowded the sidewalks, all in their own conversation or world.

each person yielding a story, just like mark and donghyuck. and each of their stories had endings. some had earlier endings, other's have late endings.

it just depends on how their story unfolds.

"hyuck, i want to take you somewhere. i swear, this place is going to cheer you up in an instant!" once the idea popped into his mind, mark knew he just had to take donghyuck there.

it's a place that's special to him, and he wants to share this special place with a special fairy.

overcame with a childish excitement, mark started to run still holding onto donghyuck, who was practically getting dragged by the elder.

"mark! slow down!"

mark slowed down and came to a stop, to donghyuck's relief.

"oh my god, why did you just suddenly just run off like that?" donghyuck was panting, bending over a bit and resting his free hand on his knees trying to regain his breath.

"we're here hyuck. look, doesn't it just make you feel like a kid again?" the younger tilted his head upwards to look at the building they stopped in front of.

it was a regular old ice cream parlor, adorned with many bright pastels giving it a welcoming vibe to it. the only thing was, donghyuck had never tried ice cream in his whole lifetime. until now that is.

he's seen and heard about this delectable cold treat, that almost everyone loves. donghyuck's passed by a couple shops here and there on missions, but he never went in a got a scoop of ice cream himself.

mark proceeded to walk donghyuck into the parlor, smiling widely.

"this place used to be me and my dad's little hang out spot. it's been too long since i've been here." the place just radiated a sense of nostalgia for the elder boy.

him and his father would always go to this shop, whether it rained or snowed, there was nothing that prevented them from getting a scoop of the creamy delicious ice cream.

"um, mark?" donghyuck pulled on mark's shirt a bit to gain the elder's attention.

turning back to face the younger, he slightly cocked his head to the side a bit, "what is it hyuck?"

"i've kinda...um...never had ice cream?"

"you've never had ice cream!?" mark shouted a bit too loudly, attracting some customers and workers.

"lower your voice will you?" donghyuck quickly apologized to the other customers and workers before he was pulled to the counter.

through the glass cases were a variety of flavors, a little further down they would see a worker actually making the ice cream.

"you're going to love this, hyuck. another reason why the place is so special is that you can actually see them make and churn the ice cream." donghyuck was in awe at the process.

he stared in wonderment as the ice cream came from being liquid then becoming a solid after churning it. a smile tugged at mark's features just looking at donghyuck stare at the ice cream being made.

his eyes looked like there were a million stars just twinkling within them. it warmed mark to the core.

"let's go ahead and pick our flavors okay?" mark brought donghyuck back to the compartments filled to the touch with ice cream. little cards on metal sticks were stuck into the ice cream, telling the flavor of each one.

"there are so many! how could i chose just one?" the younger looked utterly adorable trying to figure out what flavor he wanted to pick. biting his bottom lips cutely while his brows were furrowed, donghyuck's eyes darted from flavor to flavor.

a worker saw donghyuck having trouble so she decided to help them out.

"hello! having trouble in picking a flavor?" she asked, a friendly smile plastered on her face.

donghyuck looked up at the worker and nodded furiously.

"well, we do do samples. so just tell me which ones you want to try, and i'll give you a bit of it to sample. sound good?"

"yup, sounds good!" and boy did mark's heart want to explode from the sheer innocence donghyuck was radiating off his being at the moment.

the sparkles in his eyes. the toothy smile. the childlike gestures. the purest of hearts.

mark couldn't be happier with the fairy before him. he'd never want to let go of donghyuck, he just wants to hold and protect the younger with his all.

it was just sad how both of their endings were at drastically different points of their stories.

-🦁-

i just ended a week of testing and weird schedules :) but sadly, i have more exams up ahead and i wanna yeet myself off a cliff.

either than that, the persona album is quite the bop. my favorite song from it would have to be a tie between home and mikrokosmos. idk man, both give me nostalgic vibes. also, i better be pulling a halsey card outta one of these albums—