donghyuck stopped in his tracks as he looked at his mother inside the car.

he could also see his father at the driver's seat, his piercing eyes staring at donghyuck.

"care to explain?" donghyuck's mother asked.

donhyuck gulped, not daring to take a drag of his cigarette even if he really needed it at the moment.

he was scared of what could happen.

his parents would never want him to smoke, that's for sure.

"huh..." donghyuck blinked a few times, trying to think of an answer.

"approach." his father ordered.

donghyuck didn't have much choice, and so, he took a few steps closer to the car, his heart beating faster with each step he took towards the vehicle.

"oh my god, donghyuck!" donghyuck's mother screamed as her son approached them.

donghyuck stopped again, not understanding why she had had a sudden outburst.

he hadn't done anything in the past minute, so why would she scream at him like that?

donghyuck's mother saw the confusion in donghyuck's eyes, because she pointed at donghyuck's neck.

"what are those?"

donghyuck's hand reached for his own neck, the pressure he put slightly hurting him.

and that's when it hit him.

mark had made all sorts of love bites there, and so, his neck was full of blueish bruises, also known as hickeys.

"you had sex, son?" his father asked.

"well..." donghyuck lowered his head.

never in his whole life he imagined having a conversation about sex with his parents in the middle of the street, where everybody could hear them.

"he obviously had." donghyck's mother replied. "can't you see that?"

"i wanted to make sure."

donghyuck stayed silent, looking at his two parents getting mad.

"i am very disappointed, donghyuck." his mother said. "marks like those on your neck are indecent, and they are a mark of property. you should never have them on your body."

donghyuck gathered all the courage he had in his body to argue back.

usually, he wasn't the type to go against his parents' orders, but he had changed, and he was already in a bad situation right now. so why not trying to argue back?

"they are love bites." donghyuck replied. "they're a sign of love."

"they're an animalistic way of showing someone you desire them, donghyuck. that's not endearing at all. it shows your property."

"and what if?!" donghyuck asked, a bit louder this time. "i'm mark's property, and i'm proud to be! is it bad that i love being desired by him?"

donghyuck's father snorted.

"and the cigarette is also a way to show you're his property?" he asked.

donghyuck looked down at the stick between his fingers.

"i smoke because i want to." he replied.

"you smoke because he has a bad influence on you, donghyuck." his mother interrupted. "i knew letting you date a nicotine addict wasn't a good idea."

"you know nothing about mark!" donghyuck yelled, anger starting to form in the pit of his stomach.

"we know that he's not good for you!" his father argued.

"he is!" donghyuck replied. "i love him so much! and you're not going to prevent me doing so!"

donghyuck's parents looked at their son, sadness mixed with anger dancing in their eyes.

"what happened to you, donghyuck?" his mother asked. "i don't recognize you anymore..."

"i changed." donghyuck said.

"changes are bad, donghyuck."

"they may look like it..." donghyuck replied. "but i've never felt more alive than these past months. mark made me discover something more, something better. and i'm happy about it."

donghyuck's parents sighed in unison.

"extinguish your cigarette and climb up." donghyuck's mother said.

"no."

his parents looked at their son with a surprised face.

"no?" his father asked.

"i won't. i don't want to be with people who don't respect my choices and love me for who i am."

"but that's not who you are, donghyuck." his mother repeated.

"SHUT UP!" donghyuck yelled.

donghyuck's father gasped, unbuckling his belt before stepping out of the car.

donghyuck had gone too far just now.

"lee donghyuck, that's not acceptable!"

"i don't care!" donghyuck replied. "fuck off!"

and with those words, he ran away in the busy streets, turning left and right in small alleyways until he reached his boyfriend's house.

he knocked on the door a few times as some tears started pouring out of his eyes.

"yea- oh, baby?" mark was surprised to see his boyfriend there.

and before donghyuck answered, he let himself fall into mark's arms, and sob like no tomorrow.