Vibrant Colours. ☁

Chapter 22 #Brass

 

Donghae thought about what he told Leeteuk earlier. It was not completely true, was it? After all, he didn’t know if he could continue treating Hyukjae harshly after what happened today. He brought his hand up, dropping his gaze to the silver wedding ring on his finger, “It seems like I can never bear to be too hard on you, can I?”


Knowing that Hyukjae would be almost awake soon, Donghae picked a bright red apple from the basket of fruits Leeteuk bought, before making his way to the bathroom to wash it so that Hyukjae could have it later. One hand in his pocket, and the other tossing the apple, Donghae hummed lightly as he prepared to go next door.


However, Donghae was greeted with surprise when he opened the door. Hyukjae was standing outside. With a frown, Donghae chided good naturedly, “The doctor said your lungs are still weak as you inhaled too much fumes. You should rest in bed.” “Come on, ” he reached for the boy’s arm and was astonished when Hyukjae dodged him. Looking at the boy staring warily at him, Donghae felt his heart sink down to its gut. “How long have you been standing here?”


This time, not caring about the latter’s protests, Donghae tugged Hyukjae into his room and backed him against the wall. “Tell me what you heard.”


Hyukjae glared back at Donghae defiantly. Then, he swung a punch into the latter’s stomach, knocking both of them onto the floor, with Hyukjae on top. “The part where you stole the necklaces from my house! Lee Donghae, you ing thief!” He dealt another blow. “You are the culprit who destroyed my family!”


“What the are you talking about!” Donghae roared in anger as he caught the latter’s fists swinging wildly at him. He had no idea what Hyukjae was referring to, and he didn’t like it at all.


“You stole my mother’s diamond necklace to satisfy your sickening greed!” Hyukjae fought back, biting Donghae’s arm, causing the latter to groan in pain. “Why didn’t you rot in jail! How the hell did you get out! You motherer! Bastard-”


Donghae clamped his hand behind Hyukjae’s neck, yanked him down, and smashed their lips together, sealing the string of curses coming out from the boy’s mouth.


“-mmpfh!” Donghae’s tongue barged into his mouth forcefully, knocking Hyukjae’s breath out of his lungs. That bastard! Hyukjae tried to shut his jaws, intending to bite the intruding tongue, however Donghae saw through his intentions and freed a hand to pry his jaw open, before sinking his teeth into Hyukjae’s swollen lips as a punishment. Blood mixed with saliva seeped out from the corner of their mouths as the kiss got more intense and ferocious. It wasn’t until Hyukjae felt like his lungs were going to burst from a lack of oxygen that Donghae finally released his steel-like grasp.


Hyukjae coughed, in deep breaths as fresh oxygen rushed into his lungs again. Their kiss just reminded him again, of how he could never resist Donghae. How could he have fallen in love with his mother’s murderer? Feeling humiliated and ashamed of himself, Hyukjae striked Donghae in the face as soon as he regained his strength.


Donghae took the blow with a straight face. Immediately, he tasted rust in his mouth. Scowling, he turned to the side and spat out his blood. “Don’t ing push your luck,” he warned.  


Taking no heed of his warning, Hyukjae raised his fist again. This time, Donghae tolerated no further. “Enough!” He gave the boy a slap across his face.


Hyukjae cupped his swollen cheek in disbelief. “How dare you slap me, you murderer!” he yelled, “You killed my mom, you ing murderer!” He aimed a punch at Donghae’s eye, but the latter caught it easily.


“I did not kill anyone! Besides, I saw your mother, she’s certainly alive and well.”


“That’s my stepmother!” Hyukjae threw a kick to his shin. “My biological mother died because of you!”


“W-What?” Donghae loosened his grip, unable to believe his ears. “Your biological mother? How?”


Hyukjae took that opportunity to elbow Donghae as hard as he could, freeing himself while the latter in a deep breath at the blow. “She committed suicide because she couldn’t accept the fact that her husband gave her favourite possession away. At the time, she was suffering from serious depression, and that was causing my parents’ marriage to fall apart. They had a huge quarrel about the necklace, but my father was insistent about donating it since the company was experiencing a financial crisis then. However, I knew I had to stop my father from donating that necklace, no matter what!”


Donghae clenched his fists, making the connections quickly. “So you devised a ploy, and it was that treasure hunt?”


Hyukjae gave a nod. “You’re right. All I needed was a scapegoat to ‘steal’ that necklace for me.”


“A week before the auction, I climbed out of my bedroom window hiding from the bodyguards. Although security was tight, the bodyguards were less wary of ‘insiders’ like me, trying to sneak out of the residence. That day, I planned to befriend my scapegoat.”


“And I was your scapegoat?” Donghae controlled his urge to strangle the boy before him