The next time Donghyuck saw Mark, it was when the king stumbled upon him while he was walking through the royal gardens.
Donghyuck had taken to walking through the garden regularly, both in order to keep himself fit and exercised and also so he could spend time in a place that felt comfortable and familiar to him. He had been sitting on the bench next to the fountain, staring at the rose bushes once again when Mark had suddenly turned the corner and entered his field of vision. Both of them froze, staring at each other for a long, silent moment, before Mark cleared his throat and strode forward, taking the seat next to him on the bench.
"Lovely to see you again," the king said dryly. Donghyuck scoffed, glaring at him out of the corner of his eye.
"Liar," he snapped, continuing to stare at the flowers and refusing to fully turn his head and look at him, "been a while since I saw you, though. I was expecting you to be a little more persistent in pursuing me."
"You seemed deeply irked by last attempt at courtship. I thought I might give you a couple days to cool off and become more reasonable before I tried again," Mark scowled.
"I personally think it's very reasonable that I have no desire to mate with my captor," Donghyuck retorted, finally turning to look at Mark defiantly. The king let out a long sigh, tilting his head back in frustration.
"So stubborn. I do not understand why you think being subjected to any sort of relationship with me would be as terrible as if I were to publicly execute you in the town square."
Donghyuck's eyes widened in alarm. "Holy shit. Do you actually do that?"
Mark's lips quirked up a little in amusement. "Not very often. The last time I witnessed it was when my father initiated it. It's a punishment reserved only for the worst criminals."
"What did those people do, then...?" Donghyuck muttered, suddenly hyper aware that he was in a world where he could lose his life as a punishment for breaking the rules.
"They were members of an alpha gang. They call themselves the "Red Moon", and they go around murdering omegas."
Donghyuck flinched. "What? They kill omegas?"
"I told you already that omegas have gone extinct in our kingdom," Mark sighed, "well, that is the reason why. My father tried very hard to stop them, but it was already too late. No omega has presented in the kingdom since my mother's passing."
"That's... terrible." Donghyuck murmured, his face paling as he drew his knees up to his chest, planting his feet on the stone bench.
"You understand now why you are guarded so heavily, right?" Mark said, glancing over at Donghyuck. The omega just nodded slowly, resting his chin on his knees.
"I wanna go home," Donghyuck whispered under his breath, his mood turning solemn under the weight of the terrifying realization of exactly what kind of world he had been brought into, "omegas have it rough in my world, sure, but not... nothing like that."
"You have nothing to worry about. I will protect you with my life, Donghyuck. They will have to kill me first if they ever want to lay so much as a finger on you."
"Don't go all knight in shining armor on me now," Donghyuck spit, his voice dripping with venom as he inched away from Mark on the bench, "you're a selfish, terrible man. You brought me here against my will, into a world where I could be murdered at any point, just because you're too old fashioned to even consider having babies with a female beta."
Mark stared at him silently for a long moment. The wind brushed past them, ruffling Donghyuck's hair and cooling his bubbling irritation slightly as the fresh air and the vibrant smell of the plant life around them filled his lungs and calmed his beating heart. Mark let out a long exhale, like he too had been savoring the floral breeze.
"You can think of me however you'd like, if it quells your anger," Mark said finally. Donghyuck just scoffed. "I will try to help you understand. I hope you will, with time."
Donghyuck rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't hold my breath, big guy."
Mark ignored his snide remark and simply stood to his feet, glancing down at Donghyuck. "I think we should have a meal together again, sometime soon. I'd also like if we set aside a time to talk and get to know each other, in a more relaxed setting."
"More relaxed—meaning without guards?" Donghyuck quipped, "how unusual. I thought it would be too risky for us to go anywhere without them."
"Guards will always be nearby, but they don't need to hover while you're with me," Mark replied exasperatedly, "you forget that I'm an alpha, Donghyuck. I am strong enough to defend you myself if it were to come down to it."
"Oh I'm sure," Donghyuck snapped sarcastically, "because you're such a big strong man, right? How noble of you to protect the weak, frail little omega that can't do anything for himself."
Mark grit his teeth and turned to glare down at Donghyuck. "You just never quit with that, do you? Were you never taught how to accept kindness and generosity?"
"Weren't you ever taught that kidnapping people is wrong?" Donghyuck retorted, meeting Mark's glare with a scathing look of his own.
"You are impossible," Mark hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I will prepare another dinner for us tonight. I do hope you will attend."
"What if I don't?" Donghyuck shot back, smug.
"Then I will bring your food to your quarters directly, where we may chat more privately," Mark said, staring at Donghyuck for a moment longer before turning and starting to walk back into the palace. "I hope it will not come to that, though. I'd much rather eat with you properly."
"It's cute that you think I actually care about what you'd rather do," Donghyuck grinned, his voice yet again laced with that same saccharine sweetness that made Mark's skin prickle with irritation.
Mark simply walked away, barely sparing the omega another glance as he strode back into the palace and refused to give into Donghyuck's taunting.
┈ ୨ 👑 ୧ ┈
"No way, I'm not going."
"What?" Renjun cried, the luxurious robe he had been presenting to Donghyuck as an outfit option for his dinner with the king falling out of his hands and onto the floor. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not going," Donghyuck repeated, scoffing as he crossed his arms and leaned back against his bed frame, "are you kidding me? He treats me like shit, and we do nothing but argue whenever we're together. Why on god's green earth would I willingly choose to spend my evening with someone like that?"
"He's the king, Donghyuck," Renjun whispered sharply, glancing over his shoulder conspiratorially before leaning in closer, "you cannot refuse a request from the king, that is perhaps the most blasphemous thing you could possibly do."
"So what if he's the stupid king?" Donghyuck scowled, "he's not my mom. He can't tell me what to do. I don't want to go, so I'm not going, simple as that."
"Donghyuck... Your Grace... please think of the consequences," Renjun said exasperatedly.
"What consequences? He can't do anything to me. He needs me, which means I'm basically untouchable," Donghyuck smirked, puffing his chest proudly.
"He is quite capable of punishing you in ways that do not compromise your usefulness," the beta snapped back, "have you already forgotten when you were bound to your bed frame with ropes and silk?"
"I'm pretty sure he knows full well that if he tries any shit like that again, he will never be able to mate with me. I will personally make sure he never comes within five feet of me if he ever dares to tie me up again."
Donghyuck turned to look up at Renjun, giving him a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, Junnie. But I've made up my mind, there is nothing you can do or say to convince me otherwise."
Renjun groaned in frustration, raking his hands down his face. "Your Highness, one of these days you truly might get me fired."
"Over my fucking dead body. I will tear this place to shreds before I let them take my only friend here away from me."
Renjun gave him a rueful little smile, still looking concerned. He opened his mouth to say more—probably with the intention to protest further—but before he could make a sound, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"His Majesty has arrived," one of the servants announced, voice muffled through the thick layer of wood.
"Lord have mercy," Renjun breathed, looking to Donghyuck in a panic. Donghyuck just sat up, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"Tell him to come in."
Renjun quickly backed up against the far wall behind Donghyuck, lowering himself into a deep bow as the doors pulled open. Donghyuck didn't even bother to conceal the annoyance on his face as Mark stepped into the bedroom.
"What the hell do you want?"
Mark scoffed. Renjun coughed loudly. Donghyuck was pretty sure that one of these days Renjun would simply keel over and die from second hand embarrassment if he continued to blatantly disrespect the king in the way he did. He only felt a little apologetic about it.
"I've come to invite you on a walk with me, properly this time. I thought it might be nice for us to talk a bit more before dinner."
"Well," Donghyuck drawled, leaning back on his hands and tilting his chin at Mark defiantly, "I was planning on declining your dinner invite anyways. Sorry, but I'm not interested in walking with you."
Mark closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath. "I wanted to first apologize for getting heated during our earlier conversation. I wanted to talk now that we've both had a chance to cool down."
"I accept your apology," Donghyuck said smugly, "but I will still decline your offer to take a walk. And for the record, I'm not sorry about anything I said."
Mark bit the inside of his cheek and clenched his fists at his sides. He looked like he was holding himself back from socking Donghyuck in the face.
"Have you ever seen the gardens at night? The stars are beautiful, I could tell you a little about them if you'd like."
This peaked Donghyuck's interest a little, more than he would like to admit. He leant forward, looking up at Mark curiously. "What do you know about the stars?"
"I studied them for a bit when I was younger. I could tell you about their names and constellations," he said, latching onto the opening Donghyuck had given him like a lifeline.
The omega turned and cast a glance at Renjun behind him. Renjun hesitantly met his gaze, his eyes wide and pleading as if he were practically begging Donghyuck to just make everyone's lives easier and go with the king.
Finally, Donghyuck let out a long sigh. "Okay, fine. I guess we can go on that stupid walk."
Mark's entire face lit up, and he beamed at Donghyuck. The omega was reluctant to admit it, but Mark had a cute smile, one that made his heart melt a little if he looked at it too long. Donghyuck quickly cleared his throat and glanced away, clinging to the frayed threads of his persona of indifference.
"Renjun, hurry and get dressed."
"Oh, no," Mark cut in quickly, looking hesitant, "Renjun won't be coming along. It will be just you and I."
"No servants? No guards?" Donghyuck scoffed, looking at Mark incredulously, "wow, what the hell are you planning to do to me? You want a romantic date under the stars or something?"
Mark flushed a little, clearing his throat and looking away. "Romantic, yes. That's what I was aiming for. Although nothing will be done to you... unless it is asked for."
"It most definitely will not be asked for," Donghyuck scowled, swinging his legs off of the bed before standing and leveling Mark with a sharp look. "Get out. I'm gonna get changed, and I'll meet you down there."
"Yes, alright," Mark murmured, walking back towards the door before giving Donghyuck one more look over his shoulder. "Please do wear something warm. It's a bit chilly tonight."
"I'll wear whatever the fuck I want," Donghyuck snapped back. Mark's face pinched in distaste, before he rolled his eyes.
"Yes, well... I'll be waiting for you."