“Meet Eunhyuk, my soon to be fiancé,” Donghae told his father without even a slight hesitation.

Eunhyuk looked at him wide eyed, while Jungmin, his father just stared at them emotionlessly. Realizing the awkwardness that suddenly occurred between them, Donghae held Eunhyuk’s hand tighter, trying to tell the blonde that everything would be alright. Even if his father would hate them, he’d never let go of the blonde’s hand. All he wanted was to be with Eunhyuk.

“Is that so,” Jungmin said after a while, his voice sounded calmer than they thought, “It’s a pleasure to meet you then, Eunhyuk-sii.”

Surprised by his father’s unexpected response towards the supposed-to-be-shocking news, Donghae fell into silence right away, while Heechul quickly looked away, as if he was trying to suppress his laugh. Clearing his throat, Donghae took a step forward and looked at his father with a confused look on his face.

“What?” his father asked.

“Umm…is…is that it?” Donghae scratched his nape awkwardly, not even knowing what he should say at this moment. Should he thank his father, or should he just shut his mouth and keep calm?

“What does that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I…uh…I mean, we…”

“They’re lovers,” Heechul cut Donghae off, causing the latter to glare at him.

“I can see that,” Jungmin said, his lips forming an amused smile as his eyes landed on Eunhyuk’s clueless face, “Why don’t you take a seat first?”

Donghae who had just realized they were still standing quickly sat down before pulling Eunhyuk to sit beside him. “Are you…okay with it?” he hesitantly asked.

“What else can I say when you’re clearly telling me not to mess with your soon-to-be fiancé?” Jungmin said in a teasing tone as he sat down across the two. “Do as you wish, Lee Donghae. I have no right to interfere with your own life. You’re an adult now, you can make your own decision.”

And there was the awkward silence again. None of them took the chance to speak, and Donghae kept fidgeting in his seat while scratching his head awkwardly, unable to look at his father in the eyes. He rarely talked to his father before, but it was a fact that his father had never once forced him to do the things he never wanted to do.

“So, are you still studying?” Jungmin asked, switching his attention towards Eunhyuk who was only watching them silently.

Noticing the confused look on the blonde’s face, Donghae quickly cleared his throat and said, “He’s…umm…it’s kind of complicated. But he’s staying with me, that’s all I can tell you.”

“Oh,” Jungmin nodded. He could tell that it wasn’t something he should ask, no matter how much he wanted to know about them.

“Isn’t it about time to tell me?” Donghae said all of a sudden.

“About what?”

“How the hell did you know about us?”

“This guy called me,” Jungmin said, pointing his index finger at Heechul whose face immediately cracked into an apologetic grin. “I was quite surprised though, to hear that my two sons were arrested. But the fact that you were in a gang isn’t new to me at all.”

“Y-you…you knew?”

“I did find out, but only after your grandmother died.”

Upon the mention of her grandmother’s name, Donghae’s face instantly changed. “Did you…come to her funeral?”

“…No,” Jungmin shook his head. “I didn’t.”

“That old woman, she killed-“

“I know.”

“You know?” Donghae frowned.

“But it was too late when I found out the truth. I was so depressed back then, that I even failed to realized that I had neglected my own sons.”

Donghae gritted his teeth, having a hard time to calm himself down whenever he remembered about his mother. Noticing the sudden change in the atmosphere, Heechul immediately approached Eunhyuk and took his hand, dragging him away with him. And the blonde didn’t say anything either, as if he could understand what was going on around him.

Donghae bit his lower lip as he stared at Eunhyuk’s back, who then disappeared from his sight right away. He wanted the blonde to be here with him, but at the same time, he’d never want to burden him with his own problem. Eunhyuk had suffered enough. He would never want to hurt him again.

“I’m sorry,” Jungmin suddenly said, breaking the silence between them.

“What are you sorry for?”

“For everything.”

“Why didn’t you do anything when you knew the reason behind mom’s death?”

“There was nothing I could do, Donghae-ah… I-“

“You left mom,” Donghae said, his voice was trembling due to the anger and frustration that he had kept to himself all this while. “And you left us.”

“I’ve never intended to leave your mother,” Jungmin said, his face now was turning serious, “You, of all people should know just how much I love your mother, even until now.”

“But why-“

“It was your grandmother’s doing. I couldn’t do anything to protect your mother and you two.”

“That woman hated me, and I’ve never thought of him as my grandmother.”

Jungmin sighed. “Donghae-ah…she… Lee Misook...she’s not my real mother.”

Donghae’s eyes widened. It was hard for him to believe it, but he knew his father wasn’t someone who’d lie about something like this. “Why…didn’t you tell me?”

“No one is supposed to know that Lee Misook is my stepmother, not even your mother. My father married her because he thought I’d be having a hard time without a mother, but it turned out to be different from what he had in mind. Lee Misook only wanted his wealth. But she couldn’t do anything while my father was still alive.”

“What happened then?”

“I was too stupid to realize her intention,” Jungmin said, clasping his hands together as he looked down at his feet, “She probably felt threatened when I married your mother, because I’d certainly give your mother half of the inheritance.”

Donghae felt like there was a lump in his throat, his voice wouldn’t come out even though there were so many things he wanted to say. He breathed out deeply and rubbed his face a few times, feeling like he was going to break down at any moment. “You know what,” he finally said, without even looking at his father, “I’m…I’m tired. I think I might need to rest.”

Jungmin smiled bitterly as he slowly stood up and approached his son. “I think you need a good sleep too, son. I’ll take my leave then. Call me if you need anything,” he said, patting his son’s shoulder gently.

Donghae just nodded weakly as he watched his father walking towards the front door. There were so many things he wanted to talk about, but for now, he needed to be alone. His father gave him a small smile before walking out, leaving him there alone, accompanied by the silence.

________________________________________

Eunhyuk kept staring at the door as he was sitting quietly on the bed, waiting for Donghae to come in. Donghae looked stra