MASQUERADE ⋮ markhyuck

⥼e i g h t e e n⥽

"Dad, I don't think it's right," he said, gulping.

"Nothing is right when it comes to shooting. Animals don't deserve this but neither do humans. It's for survival."

"But those birds... They didn't do anything wrong to me. T-they have a mom, I can't shoot her."

"Do you think a hitman would care when he shoots me?" Taeyong asked a question, his eyes locked on Donghyuck. "Would he care that I was your dad? I think not. There's a high possibility that he would coldly stare at me and then go and deal with you."

Donghyuck felt his hands which were still holding the gun getting numb, the tips of his fingers started to sting and suddenly the boy felt like he was absorbed with coldness. His whole body turned into a block of ice when he stood there and looked at his dad in fear.

Those words always hurt him. Whenever Taeyong said to them, Donghyuck felt like the whole world was against them. There wasn't any place for them to hide, nothing was safe, only the cruelty of the world. Kill or get killed.

"You can do it, Donghyuck," Taeyong whispered, encouraging his son. "Show me what you have learned."

"I-I can't," Donghyuck answered in a weak voice. "I can't do it... My hands are disobeying me..."

"There's a first time for everything. If you can't kill a bird, you won't be able to kill a person too."

"I will... I will kill bad people, but dad... a bird... It's only a weak creature."

"Donghyuck," Taeyong walked to the boy and put his hand on the latter's shoulder, "your heart is too big. You can't save everyone. It's only you and the rest of the world. Even if you see me dying, you should run for your life. You need to learn how to control your emotions. There is no hesitation in the world of crimes. There's only resolution in a form of action."

Taeyong slowly placed his hands on Donghyuck's arms and pushed them up. The smaller boy clenched his teeth, trying to lower his arms again, but Taeyong just strengthened his hold, not letting his son give up.

"D-Dad..."

Donghyuck was aiming right at the clueless bird. Its head was turning to every sound the humans made yet it still didn't sense the upcoming danger. That was what made Donghyuck feel so bad. It didn't know what was waiting for him either. But that connected him and the crow. Though Donghyuck's enemies were way worse.

"Pull the trigger," Taeyong whispered into Donghyuck's ear, sending tons of shivers down the boy's spine.

He slowly nodded and put his cold and stiff finger on the trigger. Donghyuck's hands were shaky, but that was normal to a kid, who had never hurt any animal. The death scared the boy. It was so mysterious and frightening. He couldn't believe that one single shot could end the life of someone the god created so long to let out to life.

The small birds let out some happy chirping sounds, making Donghyuck's heart ache. He closed his eyes and gulped down the painful bump which started to form in his throat. When he opened his eyes, they quickly found the target and Donghyuck pulled the trigger.

The bullet sunk into the crow in a matter of seconds, so fast that Donghyuck didn't even realize that he just stole the life. There was no sound, no reaction coming from it when the bird fell from the nest, down in the grey grass. The death was silent. But Donghyuck wasn't.

He quickly threw away the gun when he realized what he had done and ran to the bird, fell on his knees, picking it from the ground and pressing it to his chest. The tears were already uncontrollably running down his face and the only words that came out from Donghyuck's side were "I'm sorry."