before the child could back away or think about collecting the blonde doll that had fallen to the floor, mark jumped forwards, ignoring his sprained ankle.

at the horrific sight of mark jumping on him, the blonde kid screamed in fear and ran away, leaving the pink-haired doll alone to face the dangerous monster that mark had become.

"d-donghyuck..." mark started crying again, lying down on his stomach on the wet pavement as his tears mixed with the raindrops. "donghyuck..."

mark took the doll in his hands, holding it very carefully, as if it was made of fragile porcelain.

the miserable boy stood up, his eyes never leaving the precious doll that he held between his palms.

"d-donghyuck, please, transform..." mark said between sobs.

he waited for long seconds, looking at the plastic doll in his hands.

but nothing happened.

the doll didn't move.

"DONGHYUCK!!" mark yelled as more tears fell from his eyes.

but still nothing.

"I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, DONGHYUCK!" he tried again, shaking the doll, to no avail.

"P-PLEASE, DONGHYUCK!!" mark had caught the attention of all the people around. but he didn't care. he didn't care about anything at that point.

he just wanted his donghyuck back. he just wanted his happiness back. he just wanted his lover back.

"D-DONG...HYUCK..."

mark refused to believe what the people looking at him were thinking.

he didn't need to look at their horrified stares to understand they thought he was mad.

mark couldn't believe it. he wasn't mad.

donghyuck hadn't been created by his imagination. he was real.

he had met maria, he had met his mother, he had met sungchan, he had met his friends...

donghyuck was real. he wasn't mad.

"d-donghyuck..." mark fell to his knees, all of his strength leaving his body. the sudden change of position made the doll fall back on the concrete, and mark didn't try to hold it again. he couldn't bear it anymore...

the poor boy was so broken that he hadn't realised that the doll he was holding wasn't even his haechan... his donghyuck...

it was just a lifeless blonde female doll, whose hair had been cut.

but not the beautiful angel trapped in the body of a doll that mark had fallen for...

he cried louder and louder, his dirty hands reaching for his eyes.

the rain was pouring on him but all mark felt was needles piercing his flesh.

he felt like dying. he felt worse than ever. as if his reason to live had disappeared, because it had. mark had to face it. donghyuck was not here anymore.

"m-mark..."

mark's whole world stopped as the sound of this familiar voice.

as much as he wanted to, he couldn't believe it was real.

donghyuck had abandoned him.

this was just a dream, or a nightmare.

this wasn't real. he had gone mad, for real.

"mark, look at me."

there it was again.

that melodious voice that could lull him into any death trap.

donghyuck's voice.

but mark didn't move one bit.

he had stopped crying. he didn't really remember how, or when. it had just happened. no tears left his eyes anymore.

"mark..."

and that's when he felt it.

the gentle caress of a hand over his shoulder, almost as light as a feather.

it felt so real...

the hand on his shoulder slid down his arm and reached for his hands that were hiding his eyes, lingering there for a short while.

mark had no strength left in his body, so he couldn't resist when his hands were pulled away from his eyes.

he couldn't resist, but he didn't want to fall back into reality.

he didn't want to realise that this was all an hallucination.

so, he shut his eyes.

"open your eyes..."

"n-no..." mark replied, his voice trembling as much as his whole body.

"mark..."

"no! t-this is not real!" mark yelled, his body staying still, as if he had been paralyzed.

"mark... i want you to open your eyes..." the beautiful voice rang again in his head.

"i don't want to open them..." mark replied, gulping down the lump that had formed inside his throat.

"mark..."

mark was in an internal debate.

he couldn't bear keeping his eyes closed.

he wanted to open them so bad.

he wanted to see donghyuck so bad.

but he was too scared to do so.

donghyuck had left him. there was no donghyuck in front of him.

he was hallucinating. he was imagining it all.

and opening his eyes to see the void would hurt him more than keeping them shut.

"don't you trust me...?"

yes.

mark trusted donghyuck with his whole life.

donghyuck was mark's life.

of course, he trusted him.

but this was not donghyuck... this was his mind...

and he didn't trust his mind... he didn't even trust himself anymore...

"n-no..." he answered.

"mark, please... open your eyes and look at me..."

mark bit his bottom lip.

keeping his eyes closed was getting harder and harder with each second passing.

he was feeling the urge to open them and to look at his doll.

but he couldn't do that.

donghyuck won't be there. he had to hold.

"mark..."

the voice sounded so close at that point.

a light gush of wind made him feel like donghyuck was breathing right in front of him.

he couldn't open his eyes now...

"i love you."

those three words were the final strike to mark's heart.

they were the last thing needed for mark's heart to completely shatter...

but at the same time, they were mark's last hope.

his mind would never lie to him.

his imagination could never build hallucinations using things that mark didn't believe in.

and mark was sure that donghyuck didn't love him.

otherwise, why would he have abandoned him?

so, why would his mind tell him that donghyuck loved him when he knew this wasn't true...

it wasn't possible...

despite all of his willpower, mark's eyes fluttered open.

and before they were fully opened, mark felt soft lips pressing against his own. and this feeling was real. as real as the boy that was pulling him closer while kissing him passionately.

mark melted into the kiss, fresh tears cascading down his cheeks at the sight of donghyuck so close to him.

mark wrapped his arms around the boy, touching him, his face, his shoulders, his arms, his waist... and just, making sure he was real.

as much as mark's eyes wanted to close to let himself being embraced fully by the kiss, mark forced them open, too scared that if he closed them, he would realise this was all a dream and he would never see donghyuck again.

the kiss lasted long.

longer than mark knew he could hold his breath.

and it felt amazing.

mark could feel donghyuck, and his body, flushing against his...

mark could taste donghyuck, his sweet lips that he had wanted to taste for so long...

mark could smell donghyuck, this divine honey scent that made mark go crazy...

mark could hear donghyuck, and his moans that were getting drowned inside mark's throat...

mark could see donghyuck, his baby doll.

"d-donghyuck..." mark breathed out as soon as donghyuck pulled away from the kiss.

"i love you." donghyuck said, looking right into mark's eyes. "i love you, mark. i'm so stupid... i... i can't live without you..."

"donghyuck..." mark's mouth contorted in a smile. "donghyuck, i love you too..."

that's all it took for their mouths to collide again.

both boys held each other tight, too scared of what could happen if they let go.

the kiss was intense, as much as the first one, but this time, a burning sensation hit both boys right in their hearts.

it quickly became unbearable, making both boys pull away from their kiss and look at each other in the eye, their hands simultaneously reaching the chests, just above their hearts.

and then, a flash of bright light blinded them both.

but soon, everything was back to normal.

it was just mark and donghyuck, facing each other while kneeling on the pavement under the pouring rain.

the burning sensation in their chests was gone, and they both felt lighter.

"w-what was that...?" mark asked.

donghyuck smiled, his hand reaching for his heart once again.

he knew what that meant. he could feel it...

"it means the malediction is lifted." he whispered.

so, this was as simple as that?

donghyuck simply needed to find true love for him to be freed from that curse?

"so, what you said was right...?" mark asked slowly.

"sadly..." donghyuck's head lowered.

mark was quick to stand up, holding his hand out for donghyuck to take.

donghyuck timidly placed his hand in mark's and stood up as well.

"do you hate me for it?" donghyuck asked, looking at his and mark's hands that were still intertwined – he was determined not to let go.

"donghyuck. i love you. all of you." mark told. "i don't care whether you are a doll, a frog or a... or even a garden chair!" he continued, making donghyuck laugh.

mark smiled, looking at the love of his life laughing.

this was a wonderful sight to see. and a very pleasant sound too.

"i love you for who you are, donghyuck. and i'm so glad i found you applying my mother's makeup that day. because if i hadn't found you there, i'd still be a clueless stupid boy who knows nothing about love. you made me so much better donghyuck... you made me fall in love with you... and that's the best thing that ever happened to me."

donghyuck smiled as mark pulled on his hand, bringing him closer to him so that he could hug him tight, and never ever let go.

🎀

jaehyun was about to go and have a shower when he was stopped by the sound of his doorbell.

with a groan, he walked across his apartment, not bothering to wear the shirt he had just took off. who could even come and disturb him at 10pm? this person better have a good reason for that.

jaehyun opened the door with much force, startling the boy that was outside.

"o-oh..." jaehyun let out as he stared at taeyong who was standing on his doormat wearing one of jaehyun's sweaters and playing with the sweater paws nervously – he surely had a short too, but it wasn't visible because the sweater reached his mid-tights.

"hello..." taeyong gulped, not knowing where to look, first of all because he was nervous as hell, and second of all because jaehyun's chest was on full display, and images of him licking those abs the other night kept flashing in his mind.

"huh..." jaehyun blinked. "ten said you didn't feel well... are you... feeling better now?" he asked.

jaehyun's mind was a complete mess at the moment.

he had no clue what taeyong was doing there at that time of the day.

and he didn't even know if taeyong had figured out that he was the guy he had had the super sex with.

so... this was a little awkward.

"not really..." taeyong replied honeslty. he wouldn't be feeling better as long as he hadn't talked to jaehyun, which is why he had gotten out of his bed when he was about to fall asleep.

"do you want to... come in?" jaehyun asked, stepping aside.

taeyong shyly walked past jaehyun inside the apartment he knew like the back of his palm, and took a seat on the sofa.

"so..." jaehyun took a seat on the sofa too, leaving a bit of distance between them. "what has you coming at my house at 10?"

taeyong took a deep breath. he couldn't back away now. he needed to tell him.

"i know you were the one i had sex with after the party." taeyong told in one go, taking another deep breath after as he felt like a huge weight had been lifted of his chest.

on the other hand, jaehyun felt like a huge weight had been placed on his chest. "o-oh..." he let out, his mind already going crazy at imagining everything taeyong could think and do – and let's be honest, none of those possibilities involved jaehyun and taeyong living happily together forever.

jaehyun waited for taeyong to speak again, but he didn't, which was stressing jaehyun even more. taeyong was staring at nothing, while being completely static.

"i'm sorry." jaehyun found the courage to speak. "i know that this will change nothing, but i'm sorry. i'm so sorry for what i have done. this was a mistake, i regret- "

"i also know that you like me." taeyong cut him, his eyes still away from him.

jaehyun's eyes widened.

he was starting to think about in which cemetery he's prefer his body to be buried.

he knew perfectly that this bet mark, doyoung and ten had done was a stupid idea that would only create problems. and yet, he had accepted. just to feel taeyong against him, for one fucking night. he had ruined 10 years of friendship for a fucking night!

"l-look..." jaehyun gulped. "i-i... y-you know you can't control who you fall in love with."

"oh, i know. trust me, i do know." taeyong replied, now glaring at jaehyun.

the boy felt completely naked under taeyong's harsh stare.

"y-you know...?" jaehyun asked barely above a whisper.

"yes, i know." taeyong stood up from the couch. "i know because after the wonderful night i had spent in the arms of someone who truly loved me, i couldn't get my head off that mysterious person, to the point i was wondering if i hadn't fallen in love with them. and when i learnt it was you, i started to realise everything you had been doing for me all those years, and i figured out that yeah, maybe i had always loved you, but i was too dumb to realise that the powerful feeling i felt whenever you were around was love. and guess what, this whole sex thing between you and i opened my eyes and made me realise that yes, i did love you, jung jaehyun."

by the end of his speech, taeyong was standing in front of jaehyun who was still seated on the sofa. however, jaehyun had now his back pressed firmly against the backrest because with each word he spoke, taeyong had leant forwards, and now, their noses were touching, and their breaths were mingling. 

"i-i... i thought you were straight..." jaehun mentally slapped himself for not finding anything better to say when he was this euphoric on the inside.

taeyong's response came as non-verbal.

in fact, he simply leant forwards a tiny bit more, and that was enough for their mouths to meet for the first time with both boys sober, and god, this felt even better than when they were drunk.

both boys aggreged on the fact they couldn't get enough of each other, which had taeyong jumping on jaehyun's lap to straddle him while the younger devoured taeyong's lips and explored his mouth with his tongue, taking taeyong's position to his advantage as he stroked the boy's bare thighs.

the kiss quickly became hot, and they were soon grinding against each other, making themselves moan.

sadly, they had to pull out from the kiss to catch their breath.

"i was about to have a shower..." jaehyun breathed out.

"is that why you're almost naked...?" taeyong asked, his pointer finger tracing the outline of jaehyun's abs and undoing the string of his joggers.

"yeah..." jaehyun nodded. "how would you feel about... joining me?"

taeyong smirked. "i'd love to."

"then let's go baby!" jaehyun declared, placing his hands over taeyong's ass cheeks as he stood up and almost ran to the bathroom.