The last article of clothing was tossed into the luggage bag and was promptly shut and zipped before its contents could spill out. Donghyuck ran a weary hand across his forehead and stole glimpse at the closed door down the hallway. His insides squirmed with guilt, and in an instant, he felt like a perpetrator in a heinous crime. He wanted to steel himself to approach that door, to knock on it, to fling his arms around neck of the owner of that bedroom. But he dare not. His immense guilt was holding him to the ground, rendering him unable to move a single step.

Mark’s bedroom door had been closed on him ever since he saw the glittering diamond ring shining on Donghyuck’s ring finger - one glance was all it took for him to understand the decision that Donghyuck had made. It almost felt as though he had closed the door on their relationship, completely halting them from going any further. Mark had avoided being in the same vicinity as him for the past few days, hurt and betrayal apparent from the way his shoulders drooped as he stalked past Donghyuck, barely blinking in his direction, and the way his eyes lost their usual shine and eagerness around him. Donghyuck could feel his heart breaking. Again.

He had tried to convince himself over and over, that he was making the right choice, that starting over was the only way for him and Jeno to recover what they had lost and regain back their relationship. But every time he tried thinking about a potential happy future with Jeno, his thoughts never failed to stray towards a certain Canadian boy, with bright, eager eyes, and the most contagious smile and laughter.

Beep! Beep!

From: Jeno

I’ll be picking you up in 10. Be at the porch.

Sent at 10.30 am

Donghyuck sighed and his phone away from his sight. This is really it then, he thought to himself. I must at least say goodbye to him, or I’ll regret it forever.

He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, taking a few determined steps towards the direction of Mark’s bedroom. Before he could raise a hand to knock on the door, it flew open, causing Donghyuck to take a few steps back in shock. He scanned Mark’s profile, and he felt as though his insides were clenched into a fist upon seeing him. His face was impassive, empty of emotion, but the look on his eyes told a different story. It was full of melancholy and cold hurt; and Donghyuck felt as though he was being punched in the gut upon seeing the manner in which his shoulders drooped dejectedly upon catching sight of his luggage bag in tow.

“Oh.” was all he could say.

“You’re really leaving then,” it sounded more like a bitter statement, than a question. Donghyuck felt as though the iciness of Mark’s voice was seeping into his heart as he avoided Mark’s gaze.

“Yeah,” he replied to his feet.

Mark retreated back into his bedroom, and Donghyuck was about to reach out, to pull him back, when he returned, holding something thick in his two hands. It was a manuscript.

“For you.” Mark said quietly, ing it into Donghyuck’s hands.

“What’s this?” he asked, taking it carefully.

“The story you said I should write. About us.”

“Oh.”

There was a silence.

“Don’t you need this? To be sent for publishing, or something?” he asked in a steady voice, quite unlike the turmoil he was feeling inside. He couldn’t believe Mark had taken his words seriously. He couldn’t believe he had actually taken the effort to pen down their moments and experiences into one story, into actual print, which lay in his undeserving hands right that moment. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he finally looked up at Mark.

“No. I didn’t finish the story. I didn’t want to.”

“Why ever the hell not?”

Another silence.

“It didn’t have the ending I wanted. You weren’t supposed to go,” Mark finally let out, the quaver in his voice causing Donghyuck’s face to crumple, all facade of holding back his emotions crumbling away. A stray tear rolled down his cheek, and he brushed it away crossly.

“I’m sorry.” was all he could manage.

“I don’t want you to go.”

“Please don’t make this harder than it already is,” Donghyuck whispered, valiantly fighting back his tears.

“Am I? You’re the one who decided to put yourself in the hands of that manipulative scum again,” said Mark hotly, his tone changing drastically to an angry one.

“Don’t call him that! I’m giving him a second chance. Three years is not something you can easily throw away. You wouldn’t do that if you were me, would you?” Donghyuck pleaded, his eyes shining with unshed tears.  

“And yet he did throw that away, very easily in fact, when you were gone. He didn’t seem to bat an eye before deciding to cheat on you,” Mark said matter-of-factly, his face impassive.

Donghyuck was silent, refusing to listen to the facts Mark were throwing at him; they felt like knives piercing his gut. He couldn’t let up.

“He says he loves me,” he replied in a shaky voice, all resolve crumbling. “That was all I wanted to hear from him the past three years.”

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