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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Get ready to get wrecked.

Enjoy this coaster of feels and remember to leave many comments~

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    Unable to sit still, Youngjae waltzed around his mansion for the umpteenth time, trying to find something to busy himself. He didn’t call the maids over to help with the cleaning; instead, the doctor went out his way and cleaned the entire place spotless. Yenny had sent him home after his lunch break, telling him that his night shift had compensate for his usual shifts. So, here he is, going through some boxes of old photos and stuff that he happened to found in one of the mansion’s many rooms. 

    They weren’t anything in particular. Just a bunch of nicely taken photos of sceneries and a handful of dried flowers. Youngjae assumed that the flowers came from the places in those pictures. It such a shame that these boxes were hidden away, but it’s clear that their owner didn’t want to let them go, either. Youngjae smiled, pulling everything out from the box and spread them out neatly as he took his time to look at each and everyone. After clearing out the boxes, Youngjae got up and headed to his study. It took him some time, but he managed to find a huge, empty scrapbook. 

    “I know what to give Jaebum for Christmas,” Youngjae said to himself, proud of the fact that he’s such a clever individual and ignoring the fact that it’s still the hot season of summer. But then, judging from the amount of boxes of photos and flowers there were, it’s going to take a long time to organize them all. 

    Coming back to the room, Youngjae sat down in front of the display, carefully going through each photo, flipping it over to see the date written on it. He managed to sort the pictures out in order and, with much difficulty, tried his best to identify which flower came from which picture. A good two hours passed and Youngjae still haven’t gotten to even half of the photos. 

    Youngjae sighed, slowly feeling the tiredness blinding his eyes. “Why are there so many…” He returned to sorting and organizing for another thirty minutes before he gave up and just lay there on the floor. Eventually, he pulled himself up again, and went through a different box. 

    All the boxes were filled with pictures and dried flowers, which made Youngjae sighed even heavier. Taking out a huge stack of photos, Youngjae really hoped that his husband would come home soon, so he won’t have to actually sit here and do this for the rest of the day. He went through each photos, hands flipping at a fast pace, only to slow down when something caught his eyes. In the later pictures, he was in them. Pictures after pictures were all of him. There were a lot of Youngjae just peacefully sleeping, and a lot of Youngjae just caught off-gaurd or too concentrated on something else. 

    It makes the doctor blush, because a lot of them were quite intimate images of him. Like him on their bed, bathing in the afterglow of their love, having nothing to cover himself but a sheet across his stomach, leaving his chest bare and exposed as his eyes closed still, sleeping away and breathing softly. Youngjae didn’t know what to feel when seeing himself like that so clearly. 

    “What if someone finds these… God, Jaebum, you… Seriously.” Shaking his head and biting his lip in utter embarrassment, Youngjae set those pictures of him back into the box, planning to make a separate scrapbook for those, because it’ll be the death of him if someone other than Jaebum were to see those. He’ll get Jaebum back for secretly taking pictures of him later. 

    Digging through another box of picture, Youngjae found pictures of Jaebum and him together, either enjoying a vacation or just lame selfies that the agent loves to take, nagging that they needed to decorate their house, rather than having nothing on the plain walls. Youngjae didn’t mind plain walls, but if having pictures makes his husband happy, then so be it, they’ll have every wall covered with their memories. He grabbed a nearby marker and wrote a big “FRAMED” on the front of the box, reminding himself to buy frames and hang these up. Going through the rest of that “FRAMED” pile, Youngjae’s smile only grew wider. There were so many precious moments they’ve shared from the time they were dating up until now. 

    His smile only dropped when he set his eyes on the faces that he missed so much. He looked at the picture. It’s obvious that it was taken at an unexpected moment. Because it had looked like Youngjae and his parents were laughing at whatever it was that his father had shared. Their laughters were genuine, light-hearted, and fill with thousands of warmths. Another one was a selfie that Jaebum took with both of Youngjae’s parents, all three smiling cheerfully, teeth baring as their eyes presented as up-sidedown crescents. 

    Youngjae didn’t notice he was tearing up until a drop dripped onto the photo. 

    They had loved Youngjae so much. 

    They had loved Jaebum so much. 

===

    The dread that this day will never come had been Jaebum’s number one priority for the past three weeks. But it’s unavoidable. And Jaebum wants to breakdown and, maybe, kill himself off before any of this could even happens. He’s unusually nervous, fidgeting next to his boyfriend, going through options of how to effectively dispose of himself.

    “Jaebum,” his boyfriend called, voice soft, but that undertone amusement didn’t go unnoticed, “relax. You’ll be fine. I’m right here.” 

    “Don’t think I don’t know that you’re trying hard not to laugh right now,” Jaebum sighed, unconsciously wiping his hands on his pants.

    Youngjae chuckled, finding the whole situation extremely hilarious. It’s not everyday to see the Im Jaebum loses his cool. Interlocking their fingers together, Youngjae smiled reassuringly, “come on. They’ll love you! They were the one who demanded me to bring you home. Always calling me and nagging me about it, calling me a bad son for having a secret boyfriend without mentioning it once.”

    “B-boyfriend? They know?” 

    “Of course, my parents are businessmen, you know, words get around.” 

    Jaebum gulped, “and they’re fine with it?” 

    “Completely,” Youngjae nodded. “They even praised me for getting such a fine, young man.” 

    Every word Youngjae said only added on to Jaebum’s anxiety. He’s in so much pressure. Any seconds now and he’ll lose control and have another anxiety attack. That would be embarrassing. 

    “Hey, Jaebum, baby, calm down,” Youngjae said, a bit worried that Jaebum might actually starts having an attack, “it’ll be okay, I promise. It’s scary, yes, but you’ll be okay. I know you’ll be. Just be yourself.” 

    “Jae-ah…” 

    “Hmm?” 

    “I think I’m not dressing right…” Jaebum felt self-conscious all of a sudden. “I think I should have worn a suit and tie. This is…”

    Youngjae rolled his eyes, but still looked over to check out his boyfriend. Scanning Jaebum from head-to-toes, Youngjae grinned, “since when have you ever not look good? Like, you always look good. It’s all right.” 

    “But Youngjae-“

    “For God’s sake, you’re in a white button-up and black slacks, looking like some fresh church boy, so you’ll be fine! Now come on!” Youngjae had enough of Jaebum’s and dragged the reluctant boyfriend through the gates of the Choi’s residence, which was a beautiful, modernized mansion, painted in an off-white color, truly looking like a castle. 

    Jaebum wasn’t surprised. The Choi Agriculture Exports was a huge, successful company. What did surprised Jaebum was that despite the loving arms of wealthy parents, Youngjae had never accepted any help from them. The doctor had built his own ground to stand on from his own hard work and determination. 

    And now, the prince is taking his lover to meet the king and queen at their castle. 

    Pulling Youngjae’s hand to stop the doctor from proceeding any further, Jaebum exhaled heavily, feeling all the weights of responsibilities came crashing down. “W-wait… Let me… Let me breathe for a minute…”

    “Um, Jaebum, I don’t think you even have a minute to breathe,” Youngjae cleared his throat.

    “My babies!” A new voice appeared. 

    Jaebum looked up and immediately froze. Youngjae’s right. He won’t even have a minute to breathe. Because Mister Choi and Madam Choi were already running towards them with open arms. 

    Jaebum wants to die. 

    “Mom… Dad…” Youngjae waved, “hey….”

    They approached their son with bright smiles on their faces. Youngjae had let go his boyfriend’s hand to hug his parents. And Jaebum was feeling lost without Youngjae’s warmth. The hugs lasted longer than Youngjae had expected, but right after it was done, he immediately went back to holding Jaebum’s hand, because he knew how scared his boyfriend was. Well, the Chois could be a bit enthusiastic more than average. 

    “Honey, look, they’re so cute! They’re holding hands!”  Madam Choi was so excited as she clasped her hands together, squealing like a little high school girl. 

    “Ignore her, she’s extra,” Mister Choi smiled, reaching out his hand for a handshake, “welcome, I’m glad you could make it to dinner with us tonight.” 

    Jaebum breathed. This is it. His whole entire existence has finally come down to this. He’s prepared all for this moment. With a confident smile, Jaebum took Mister Choi’s hand in a firm handshake. “Good evening, sir. Thank you for having me."

    Youngjae’s father was impressed, “wow. Nice handshake. Youngjae, marry him, he’s a keeper.” 

    “Dad!” Youngjae groaned, cheeks flaming, “we’re not…” 

    “Will be, my baby,” Madam Choi chimed in with her grin. She turned to Jaebum, “I hope you don’t mind us too much. Be comfortable, my dear. You’re part of this family from the moment Youngjae chose you.” 

    The agent couldn’t help but chuckled lightly at those cheesy word, “ma’am, if your son was this careful and affectionate with his words, I wouldn’t have such a hard time trying to figure out if he’s really into me.” 

    Youngjae’s mother gasped, “Youngjae! I thought I’ve raised you better! How could you treat this young gentleman with such a cold heart!”

    The doctor smacked his agent boyfriend on the arm, hissing and glaring at Jaebum for making him the bad guy in front of his own parents. “I do love you, jeez, why are you like this? Weren’t you all scared just minutes ago?” 

    “YOUNGJAE SAID ‘LOVE’! I’M CHOKING!” Mister Choi shouted, “honey, I think we’ll be attending a huge wedding very soon.” 

    Youngjae rolled his eyes, “can you guys not do this in front of my boyfriend? It’s embarrassing. And I haven’t even formally introduce him yet.” 

    “Okay,” the Chois turned serious in matters of seconds, “introduce him, son. You do that, and then we’ll be ourselves afterwards.” 

    Sighing, Youngjae thanked the Heavens that his parents have finally calmed down. “Mom, Dad, this is Im Jaebum, my boyfriend-“

    “And soon-to-be-husband.”

    “DAD! Please!” 

    “Sorry, I’ll shut up now.”

    “Thank you,” Youngjae exhaled, “and Jaebum, this is my Mom and Dad.” 

    “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am, sir,” Jaebum followed up with a polite bow and charming smile. 

    “Oh, please, ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ would be fine. No need for formalities-“

    Youngjae raised an eyebrow, “no, ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ only.” 

    “But-“

    “THAT’S FINAL.” 

    Immediately closed their mouths, the two Chois stood orderly, as if their son was a military instructor while they were the cadets. Jaebum tried hard to hide his laughter by looking down at the ground. This family is too cute. 

    Madam Choi leaned over and whispered, thinking her son won’t hear, “but you can call us ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ when this little brat is not around.” She winked playfully, suggesting for Jaebum to go with the plan. The agent nodded and smiled, amused with the parents’ bubbly personalities. 

    “Jaebum only listens to me, so don’t waste your breath on trying to recruit him into your scheme, Mom,” Youngjae said, sighing and dragging Jaebum away before his parents could corrupt the poor agent even more. 

    “Hey! Wait! Let’s go together, Youngjae-ah!” 

    Ignoring his parents, Youngjae didn’t slow down one bit, but picked up his pace. Jaebum looked over at his lover with a smirk, “embarrassed? Your face is all red, babe.” 

    “Leave me alone!” Youngjae pouted, “I don’t deserve this…” 

    “Mhmm, love you, too,” Jaebum cooed sweetly, “I’ll show you when we get back-“

    “We’re here!” Youngjae cheered and forced Jaebum down on a chair at the extravagant dinning table. He then took the seat next to his boyfriend, smiling happily. 

    Jaebum couldn’t help but gets flustered by Youngjae’s smile. It never failed to makes the agent’s stomach lurched forward excitedly with millions of butterflies. It’s the smile that he’ll never get used to. The smile that he’ll love and protect for the rest of his life. 

    “What a brat, Youngjae, you could have waited for us!” Mister Choi scolds as soon as the couple had reached the room and took their seats, with Madam Choi across from Youngjae and Mister Choi at the head of the table. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, Jaebum-ah. Our son could be too much sometimes.” 

    “Yes, he is,” Jaebum smiled, agreeing, which earned himself a smack on the arm from the mentioned young master. “See?” 

    The table erupted in laughters as Youngjae sulked in his seat with a burning face. “I’m hungry! Let’s eat!” Youngjae declared, hoping to steer the attention away from him. Of course, with their young master’s words, the maids scurried themselves, bringing plates of deliciously made foods onto the table. 

    As dinner was getting ready, Mister Choi turned over to look at Jaebum with a fatherly smiling, however, with a little glint of something else in his eyes. “So, Jaebum. What’s your full name? And what do you do? What do your parents do? What’s your blood type? Social security number? Shoes size?”

    Youngjae almost choke on the water he was drinking, “Dad!” 

    Jaebum didn’t take those questions as threats. He was prepared for this. He’ll be willing to answer anything. “My last name is Im, sir, Im Jaebum. I’m current a Captain of one of the Special Units at K.N.S.S. My parents are the chairmans of Im Trading Commerce and Industrials. I’m blood type A. And I can’t give you my social security number. But my shoes size is 260.” 

    Madam Choi nodded, approve of Jaebum’s answers. “Wow. So you’re them. The Ims that followed behind Park Group.” 

    “Yes, ma’am.” 

    “Youngjae, you always catch big fishes, huh? First, your best friend is the Chairman Park, and now, your lover is the heir to the second largest company.” 

    “Mom…” Youngjae sighed.

    “I like him better than Suzy already,” Mister Choi said, voice dropping lower than before. With the sudden drop of the head of the household, the entire atmosphere turned sour. 

    And Jaebum didn’t feel comfortable with the mentions of Suzy. 

    Awkwardly, Youngjae cleared his throat, “I thought you should know that Jaebum could cook, too! And he cooks really really really good!” 

    “What? Seriously? Oh, my God. What can’t my future son-in-law can’t do?!” Madam Choi reached over and grabbed Jaebum’s hands. Her eyes fired up with determination, “Jaebum, please, make him eat a lot. Force it down his throat if you have to. Youngjae is working too much.” 

    Matching the fire in his future mother-in-law’s eyes, Jaebum nodded, squeezing her hands in return, “don’t you worry. I’ll take care of him really well. From eating to emotional supports.”

    “And physical supports…” 

    “DAD!” Youngjae yelled. 

    “But I don’t have to worry about that. Jaebum looks very capable in bed-“

    “Oh, my God. Please, someone, please kill me now.” 

    Everyone, expect Youngjae, burst out laughing, sadistically enjoying the pains and embarrassment Youngjae had to go through. They love to bully the unfortunate doctor. 

    “I hate this,” Youngjae hid his face behind his face. 

    “No, you love us.”     

    “Wrong, honey, he loves me more.”

    “Excuse you? I’m his mother. I gave birth to him! He obviously loves me more!” 

    “Yeah, whatever, without me, you can’t give birth to him anyways, so-“

    “My son loves me!” 

    “So you’re saying he isn’t my son? What even?” 

    “Youngjae, you love your Mom the most, right?” 

    “Don’t let her bewitch you, my son, you love me.”

    The couple petty fight refused to stop no matter how many times Youngjae had demanded it. But it had made Youngjae to giggle nonstop and holding his stomach, laughing at his lovely parents’ childish argument. Jaebum soon joined in on Youngjae’s laughters, finding the whole situation too cute to handle. 

    Reaching a conclusion, Mister Choi sighed, “you know what, we’re both wrong. Youngjae loves his Jaebum, of course.” 

    And just like that, laughers mixed within each other, as the Chois couldn’t help but laughing whole-heartedly. Jaebum secretly took out his phone and snapped a quick picture of the family. The warmth radiating off of Youngjae and his parents had made Jaebum forgot the empty hole that his own parents had left behind. Jaebum had thought that Youngjae and his parents were enough to fill up that hole. 

    And Jaebum wasn’t wrong. 

===

    Time slipped by like a blink of an eye. Youngjae didn’t realize he had been looking through his family pictures for a couple of hours now. There were just so many of them. Since that first meeting, Jaebum had come over so often that he managed to memorized the whole Choi’s mansion by memory. He even came over without Youngjae. But Youngjae never minded it, because he knows how much Jaebum loves his parents and vice versa. It’s understandable, since Jaebum’s parents weren’t very much ideal. Besides, Youngjae loves it when he sees his parents happily hanging out with Jaebum. That image had never failed to make Youngjae smile. Honestly, he could never ask for more. 

    Putting everything back into the box, Youngjae decided that’s enough for the day. He wiped his tears with the sleeve of his button-up. He hates to get emotional like this, but the past hurt too much. All those sweet moments will never return again. Youngjae could feel a part of his heart left with them. 

    Youngjae closed the door behind him. He went down the stairs, wandering in the kitchen, grabbing some random fruits he had found in the fridge: an apple, a pear, and a container of strawberries. 

    Outside, the sky shifted its color, from a pretty baby blue to an elegant mask of dark blue. Jaebum would be home soon. Sighing, Youngjae grabbed a knife and began cutting the fruits, peeling off its thick skin and slicing it to pieces. Out of boredom, the doctor made little bunnies with the apple pieces. Proud of his work, Youngjae took a picture and sent it to Jaebum with a grinning face emoji attached. And right after, a text came from Jaebum, whining about how he wants some and cooing about how cute Youngjae’s little bunnies are, just like the person who has made them.

    Enjoying his fruits, Youngjae just stared at his house. He thought maybe a mansion was too big for two people. Should they have just moved into Youngjae’s penthouse instead? Furrowing his eyebrows, the doctor chewed on the one of the bunnies. He decided to talk to Jaebum about it. They’ll decide together to move or not. 

    It didn’t take long for Youngjae to finish munching on his fruits. He cleaned up properly and headed over to the couches, planting himself on them as he tried to think of something less tiring to do. The house was already sparkly cleaned from corners to corners. And the scrapbook project was done for the day. There isn’t anything left for Youngjae to do; he didn’t want to watch anything either. 

    The long stare at the device that’s resting in Youngjae’s hand convinced him to call his husband. Jaebum would be home in a hour. Finger hovering over the screen of his phone, Youngjae sighed. But before the call was through, the mansion shook up in the ringing of the bell. Youngjae pulled himself up and went to open the door, slightly surprised that they got visitors. 

    As soon as the front doors opened, every pieces of self-confidence stripped itself off of the doctor like a snake shedding its skin. His eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, as much as he wants them to. The air was thick and suffocating, straggling Youngjae at his throat, depleting his ability to speak. Horror consumed him as he stood there. 

    “You must be Choi Youngjae.” 

    “Yes… I am. Is there-“

    “Letting us in would be nice.” 

    “O-of course,” Youngjae moved aside, “please come in. Jaebum won’t be home for another hour.” 

    “I believe this is our first time meeting you, Youngjae-ssi.”

    “Yes, it is. I-“

    “We’re not here for you. You don’t have to talk to us.” 

    Jaebum, where are you, Youngjae chanted over and over in his head. Desperation overcame his composure and he just wants Jaebum to be next to him right now. He knew he wouldn’t last very long. 

===

    Red lights only add on to the anger that’s boiling Jaebum’s blood, cooking up his internal organs as a tribute. the rules because Jabeum just wants to get home as fast as he could. After receiving the news from one of his guards that his parents were back in Korea, Jaebum almost flipped . His parents’ return only meant bad news. And Jaebum rather die than leave his Youngjae alone with those brutal torturers.

    When he finally parked at his house, Jaebum quickly got out of his car and barged through the front doors like an intruder. The moment his eyes set on Youngjae, Jaebum was furious. “What do you think you’re doing?” He growled, protectiveness glazed over his eyes as he stared down at those two people he called parents. 

    At the sight of their son, Master Im and his wife stood up, small smiles painted their sinister faces. “Well, it’s good to see you, too, Jaebum.” 

    “Youngjae, come here,” Jaebum pulled Youngjae up to his feet and pushed his husband behind him. He glanced over his shoulders. Youngjae didn’t looked too good. Whatever these two monsters had said to him had scarred him. Jaebum’s rage builds up intensely, hating to see those sad eyes staring back at him, shaking in desperation. Youngjae is a strong person, but to see him looking like he’s been swallowed alive makes Jaebum wants to set off in a killing spree. 

    “How have you been doing, son?” 

    “Don’t call me that. I don’t need you to worry about me. I’m doing fine on my own,” Jaebum reached back, searching for Youngjae’s hand. He only feels safe with Youngjae gripping tightly onto him. 

    Madam Im scoffed, the annoyed expression on her face visibly evidenced it self. She had no shame in openly showing it. “Apparently not, seeing that you married a man.” 

    “That’s none of your concern. I can do whatever the I want.” 

    “That’s no way to speak to your mother, Im Jaebum!” 

    “Why are you people here? I thought you left for good! Why are you here?” Jaebum raised his voice, unable to control his adrenaline. 

    “We’re here to bring you back!” 

    “NO!” Jaebum shouted, veins popping and hand squeezing Youngjae’s, “leave me alone! Get the out of this house!” 

    “Jaebum…” Youngjae tugged his husband’s jacket, “don’t say that to your pa-parents…” 

    The agent hates himself even more to hear how empty his husband’s voice was. “I want you two to leave right now. And never show up in front of my face again. I’ve had enough of you two. You’ve got no rights to do this. You can’t just step out of my life and step back in and take everything away from me!” 

    The thought of this obscure behavior of her own son just because of a man never crossed Madam Im’s mind. She had thought that she had a full grip on Jaebum’s life. “Everything? Are you insane? You mean that piece of low-life standing behind you is your everything? Please, give me something else to laugh at, Jaebum-ah. He’s nothing.” 

    If Youngjae weren’t holding him back, Jaebum would have lashed out at his own mother and rip off that arrogant smirk on her conceited face. “Don’t you dare talk that way about my husband.” 

    “Husband? This is unacceptable. Jaebum, you’re our son, the heir to our company. What kind of reputation do we have now because you went out your way and married a ing man!” Master Im joined in on the tension, roaring loudly like the authoritative father he is. 

    “I don’t give a about your goddamn reputation. I love Youngjae, and he’s married to me. I won’t let you two step over him like this.” Jaebum glared, bloody daggers stabbing into the throats of his obnoxious parents, “I won’t repeat myself. Get. The. . Out.” 

    Youngjae bit his lip, tugging his husband’s hand, eyes pleading Jaebum to stop it. “Jaebum…. Don’t be-“

    “It’s okay, I’m here. Don’t worry about it,” Jaebum reassured, feeling his heart being cut into pieces as Youngjae looked at him all broken. 

    “Let him go this instant. I’m not please with the way you’re protecting him like this,” attempting to pull Youngjae away from Jaebum, Madam Im yanked hard on Youngjae’s arm, causing the doctor to staggered back and bumped hard against the wall. 

    That was it. Jaebum shoved his mother back, eyes piercing with hatred that she dared to laid her dirty hands on Youngjae. Master Im was shock by the action and morphed that shock into madness as he reached out and slapped his son hard across the face. Youngjae panicked and held Jaebum’s face in his hands, tears b his eyes, threatening to fall. “Jae-Jabeum… Just stop it… Listen to them… Please, you’re hurting yourself. I-“

    “Get away from my son!” Master Im grabbed a hold of Youngjae and pushed him hard to the floor, almost knocking Youngjae’s against the sharp corner of the coffee table. 

    If this was how it is, then it’s how it is. Jaebum punched his father squarely in the elder man’s face. “HOW DARE YOU HURT HIM IN FRONT OF ME!” He yelled, eyes red with nothing but anger. “ both you! Don’t touch him!” Jaebum helped Youngjae up, worry written all over his face as he scanned his husband, checking if there’s any injuries. 

    “I’m f-fine…” Youngjae managed to breathe out, a bit out of it due to the sudden attack. 

    “No, you’re not,” Jaebum shook his head, heart wrenching and feeling guilty. “I’m so sorry, Jae-ah.” 

    Youngjae shook his head, “I’m really fine. It’s okay, just…. Jaebum, just…” It was hard. Because the words were stuck at his throat. Youngjae couldn’t force it out. 

    “Jaebum, look at yourself. I can’t believe you’re my son. Look at you, being blinded by this witch. You don’t even know if he’s using you,” Madam Im spat, venom and disgusting hate formed her words, “like this house. This mansion. It’s yours, isn’t it? There’s no way-“

    “Shut the up,” Jaebum said, “I hate it when people just talk like they know everything when they don’t. This mansion is ing his, you . He’s the one who bought it for me. Stop talking like you know him. You don’t. So shut the up.” 

    “Jaebum! Apologize to your mother this instant!” 

    Jaebum just rolled his eyes and went back to making sure Youngjae was okay. The master and madam were fuming with all kinds of malice. The way they stared made Youngjae shivered. The doctor grabbed Jaebum’s hands, desperately trying to force those horrible words out of his throat. He could do this. “Leave, Jaebum.” 

    “What?” 

    “Jaebum, please, just…” Tears spilt from Youngjae’s eyes as his lips quivered, “just go, please, I don’t want to see you hurt, so just-“

    “No, what are you saying, Youngjae,” Jaebum shook his head, trying to absorbs whatever that his husband, who he loves so much, was saying. 

    “Please, Jaebum-ah, just go… I’ll be fine,” Youngjae sniffled, swallowing down the crack in his voice and urge to hug his husband and beg him to never leave. But he can’t. He has to be strong. For Jaebum. For him. For the both of them. 

    “Don’t do this, Youngjae-ah. Don’t do this to me,” Jaebum searched Youngjae’s eyes, searching for a sign, something that Jaebum could reply on to take Youngjae and run away. “What did they tell you, Jae-ah? Forget whatever they’ve told you. Just don’t do this to me, Youngjae-ah. I can’t… Without you, I can’t.” 

    The thought that this would happen haven’t once appeared in Youngjae’s mind. He was too selfish. He wants Jaebum all to himself. He didn’t want to let go. This must be his punishment. His punishment for being selfishly in love. His punishment for always wanting more. Youngjae had come to accept the fact that Jaebum and him are from two different worlds. Youngjae had come to accept the buried fact that he doesn’t deserves Jaebum. He never did. He has to let go. He has to face his punishment. 

    “If you can’t,” Youngjae said, eyes tearing away from Jaebum and hands letting go, “then I will.” 

    Jaebum watched as Youngjae turned away from him and walked away. The sounds of doors closing and car’s tires scratching loudly against cement were the last thing echoing in Jaebum’s ears before his knees hit the floor. And he was left crying and screaming as his parents watched with satisfaction glinting in their animalistic eyes. 

    Jaebum had come to realize that Youngjae had just sacrificed everything in order to protect him. 

    It only brings pain to Jaebum. 

    Because this whole entire time, it wasn’t Jaebum who’ve always protects Youngjae. 

    But it was Youngjae who has always protects Jaebum.