“Excuse me? Can you please repeat that?”

“I’m dating your son, Mr. Tuan.”

If a person could die from situations like this, Mark could’ve died the moment they stepped inside their house. He wasn’t even sure how they ended up like this. Jackson offered him a ride home, which he gladly accepted. They had this talk in the car about revealing their new relationship to his parents, and soon to his boyfriend’s mom.

Boyfriend. He still had to get used to that word.

Going back, of course he didn’t want to, yet. He felt that it was too early, but Jackson insisted, and well, here they were. His mom reacted as expected. She was happy and delighted, knowing that his son had finally found someone.

But his dad, well, it seemed that his father wasn’t taking it as lightly as his mom did.

“Since when?” His dad asked. “Why wasn’t I informed of this?”

“Dad, since today.” Mark responded as careful as possible. One wrong word would provoke his dad, and he didn’t want that, not when Jackson was around. “Only today, dad. Promise.”

“I’m talking to Jackson, Mark.”

And, that was his cue to back away from this conversation. His dad would never listen to him. Though, he was happy that his father was calm about this. And, he was glad that Jackson was, too.

Well, this was his doing to begin with.

“Can you please leave me and Jackson alone first?”

Well, that escalated too quickly. He didn’t like the sound of his dad’s voice. His father was never a violent man, but this might change things. This was his first ever relationship, and this was also the first time he had seen his old man act this way.

“Dad, no-“

 “Mark, come on.” His mom held his hand, dragging him to the kitchen. He tried to protest, but it seemed that his mother was rather calm with the situation. “Trust me, dear. Jackson will be fine.”

“But, mom-“

“Mark, he’ll be fine. Your Dad won’t do anything you wouldn’t like. Trust me.”

He glanced back at the two, who haven’t done anything as of the moment. He was afraid of what might happen, but he decided to trust his mom with this. Like they did say, mothers always knew best. So, he allowed himself to be dragged to his room, leaving him there as his mom left. He wanted to peek out of the room so badly. He wanted to stick his ear to the wall, but he couldn’t.

He trusted his parents.

But, was this really that nerve-wracking? He had actually paced around his room for several times now. There were several questions running through his head right now. What were they talking about? What were his parents saying? How was Jackson taking things? A lot more, actually. He sat back down on his bed, trying his best to calm down, which wasn’t working in any way. He decided to check his phone, which had a text message.

So, who did you pick?

Of course, Jaebum wanted to know who the person was. And, with this text, he suddenly realized how things were right now. It was like this short text pulled him back down to reality; the reality where someone in his life would probably leave, all because he was bound to make a choice.

His worry for Jinyoung had been there, not really leaving him, hiding at the back of his mind. His worry came with fear. He was afraid of what might happen in the coming days.

And, based on the reaction he saw, he was sure Jinyoung wasn’t taking this lightly. Who would? The guy was just rejected. Jackson said that it wasn’t his fault, that Mark shouldn’t feel guilty at all. But, how can he not? He hurt someone, and the person never looked so alone and broken.

He broke Park Jinyoung. It was all Mark’s fault.

He couldn’t get it out of his head. He couldn’t let things go, as to what Jackson wanted. It wasn’t that easy. It would never be easy. Jinyoung probably hated him, and he Mark deserved it. He deserved every bit of hatred he would be getting.

It was his fault.

The door opened, as Jackson came in. He decided to text Jaebum tomorrow, since he still needed to know about the discussion made.

“Hey, you okay?”

“It’s nothing.” He lied. “I’m just worried about you.”

Technically, he was really worried about Jackson. But, was he okay? No, he wasn’t.  And, the other didn’t seem convinced.

“I’m fine, Mark.”

“So, what did my parents tell you?”

“Well, nothing much.”

“What is this nothing much that you speak of?” There had to be something. And, he wanted to know every bit of it. “Tell me, please?”

“I’d rather not” The other said, a bit playfully. “It’s between me and your parents.”

“Jackson, please?”

“Nothing to tell, really. Your parents just asked some questions.”

Those questions were the things he wanted to know, that wasn’t nothing. Though, he was relieved, knowing that his parents seemed to have accepted Jackson, since the guy didn’t show any signs of negativity in any way.

“Jackson, come on. Tell me.”

“Fine, fine. Actually, it was your dad who did most of the asking.”

Well, that was expected from his father, seeing how the man reacted to their relationship earlier. His mom didn’t seem to mind, she was happy even.

“Your dad said that this was your first ever relationship, and that you’re their only child. He asked if I really did love you.”

He could only nod at the other’s words. Mark didn’t have much to say, since his parents did that for him.

“Of course I said yes.” Jackson took his free hand, locking their fingers. “And, well, that was pretty much it. After that, he gave me a warning.”

A warning, why was he not surprised?

“He told me that if I hurt you, let alone make you cry, he will kill me.”

“Anything else?” Jackson was silent for a while, but soon, a grin crept on the other’s face. “What?”

“Well, your dad reminded me about protection.”

“Protection? What did he- Oh my god” His whole face heated up. How could his dad even think about that? “Stop laughing!” He exclaimed, pushing Jackson off the bed.

“What? It’s funny. Your reaction was priceless, Markiepooh.”

“What even, Jackson? Markiepooh, really?” He tried his best to keep a straight face, but the pet name was too corny and cheesy that it made him smile. “Really? What does that even mean?”

“Well, Mark and...” Jackson stopped, and it seemed that the boy was trying his best. “Mark and Winnie the Pooh