At daybreak, streams of orangey-gold sunlight peeked through the gaps in the blinds. Usually they got shut at night for this exact reason, but Mark’s slightly faced nature the night before made him forget even the simplest tasks.

A groan escaped his lips as one of the rays moved right into his eyes. “,” he moaned as he felt his brain pounding in his skull. An ample punishment for a night of trying to forget. Mark felt something brush against his chest as he shifted in bed. He peeled the covers back and nearly choked when he saw the mesh shirt still clinging to his torso. Fingers immediately moving to pry the shirt off, he tossed it across the room before curling back up under the covers again.

There was no hope for him to fall back asleep, but his body didn’t want to move. Hangover therapy tended to include a lot of lying around doing nothing, just how he liked it.

That made it all the easier to pretend he was asleep when his door creaked open an hour later. “Mark?” Jaebum whispered. “Are you up yet?” The sound of distant shouting filtered in through the open door. Mark’s brow furrowed as he tried to figure out whose voice it was. Who would be yelling this early in the morning? Luckily, his body was turned away from the door, so Jaebum couldn’t see the shift in his expression.

“Mark?”

When the older didn’t answer the second time, Jaebum tiptoed into the room, his sock-clad feet barely making a noise on the carpet. Where he was headed or why he even entered the room in the first place, Mark didn’t know. That was the benefit of pretending to be asleep, though. His roommate let out a quick sigh of relief from the opposite end of the room. Mark guessed he was standing in front of Mark’s desk now, clearly looking for something.

The subtle click of fingers pressing virtual buttons confirmed Mark’s itching suspicion that Jaebum was after his phone. Mark suddenly regretted the time he’d told Jaebum his lock code. He wanted to turn, to catch him in the act and demand to know what was going on. But if there was anything he was truly good at, it was waiting and letting everything play out in front of his eyes without anyone knowing. It sounded way creepier than it actually was.

After a few minutes of typing away in silence, Jaebum swore under his breath. “This guy is ing clueless.” Confusion spread over Mark for a second before it became painfully clear who he was talking about. There was only one person Jaebum would’ve known about in Mark’s contacts that he didn’t already have saved in his own phone. Jackson. But why was he talking with him now? What did he need to say so badly that he’d sneak into Mark’s room to tell him?

A few minutes later, Jaebum opened the door again. The shouting sounded louder than before, but it still wasn’t enough for Mark to hear who it was or what they were saying. Once the door clicked shut again, Jaebum yelled from the other side then thudded down the stairs. Sliding out of bed, Mark walked over to his desk and picked up his phone. There were no unfamiliar texts. The KKT conversation with Jackson looked the same as it had 24 hours ago. Jaebum deleted whatever messages he’d been sending.

More than a little annoyed, Mark rushed out of his room, hell bent on grilling Jaebum until he got answers to all the questions flying around in his head. As soon as he reached the edge of the stairs, though, he heard something that made him pause.

“If you two would just calm down, I’ll tell you what he said.” Jaebum’s voice was strong and commanding, clearly trying to reign someone in. Mark thought of the shouting he’d heard and wondered if that had anything to do with it. Of course it does, he thought. I don’t hear the screaming now, so what else could it be?

He moved down a few stairs before taking a seat, staying hidden by the wall that stood between him and the living room. “Are you two okay now?” Jaebum asked.

“Just tell us already,” Jinyoung muttered. The sound of his voice surprised Mark. Jinyoung wasn’t the type to yell at anyone. He was usually so calm and, when he wanted to be, very calculating. But, now that he thought about it, the yelling did resemble his best friend’s voice. A lot.

There was a pause, the silence more deafening than any bass-blasting club he’d been in. Mark found himself unconsciously leaning forward, desperate to hear something.

“I told him basically that everything was going haywire over him and that he needed to explain himself,” Jaebum began again. “He really had no idea what was going on. I guess Mark hasn’t said anything to him since it all happened.”

“That doesn’t change anything,” Jinyoung blurted out. “He was still all over some other guy in front of cameras. And if he tried to pull that ‘I didn’t know Mark liked me crap’, I’m not buying it. Mark’s been glued to his phone ever since he got back.”

“Jinyoungie, please,” Jaebum sighed. “Just calm down and listen. The guy didn’t even know the picture was taken. He said there were cameras everywhere that weren’t recording and dozens of staff people all around. How was he supposed to know that one person was taking a picture right at that moment?”

“He shouldn’t be doing that kind of stuff in the first place,” Jinyoung muttered.

“That’s like saying you shouldn’t be allowed to hang out with Mark anymore because we’re together,” Jaebum sighed. “Should I be demanding that you two stop hanging out? Should I be throwing fits when you cuddle up with him when you’re watching a movie?”

Mark felt heat rise to his face. He hadn’t ever really thought about it, but him and Jinyoung were definitely more clingy than most friends. They were both lucky that Jaebum was so understanding of their friendship. He’d never once shown any kind of jealousy or hostility. At least, not that Mark ever saw.

He didn’t need to see Jinyoung to know that he was silently glaring at Jaebum. He was right, but that didn’t mean Jinyoung liked it.

“What about the message? That didn’t exactly help his case.”

Jaebum huffed. No doubt he was shoving his hands into his pockets, tired of Jinyoung’s desperate attempts to make Jackson some sort of comic book villain. “He sent that question because he was worried that, if word got out, it would hurt his group. He said he didn’t want the other two guys to suffer because of him.”

Mark’s mind wandered, thinking about how Jackson would react to his and Jinyoung’s friendship. He seemed nice enough, but jealousy was a dangerous switch that could completely change someone. Mark hoped that the other boy, his pre-determined soulmate, would be understanding. A part of him was certain that Jackson would never intentionally do anything to hurt him, but that twinge of fear that he’d read the other all wrong still sat at the back of his mind.

“So it was all just a misunderstanding, then,” Jinyoung sighed.

“I told you!” Mark leaned forward again at the sound of Anna’s voice. Was she who Jinyoung had been yelling at? “Jackson’s one of the kindest people in the world. He’d never hurt anyone, especially someone he was into.”

“How do you know he’s into Mark?” Jinyoung said. “You don’t even know him.”

“I know him more than you do,” she retorted. “Besides, I’m pretty good at telling when someone’s real and when they’re playing it up for the camera. Jackson’s as real as they get.”

Hearing that lifted a weight from Mark’s chest that he hadn’t even known was there. Something about someone who knew who he was and the hectic life he lead saying he was genuine made Mark happy.

He wanted to message Jackson. To say that everything had just been a mistake. That he knew what really happened now.

When he got back to his room, there was a missed call notification waiting for him. Mark’s brow furrowed as he saw that his mom had just tried to call him. There was no voicemail, but it still felt off. His mother never called him before noon. He chewed his bottom lip nervously as he called her back, waiting for her to answer.

“Yi En,” she answered. “You have your passport with you, right? I’m coming to get you.”

“What?” he asked. It didn’t make sense. His mother always planned everything. Spontaneous trips were something she would never do. “What’s going on?” He would’ve asked where they were going that he’d need a passport, but there was only one other country that his mother would ever travel to. Taiwan.

“Your aunt…” she trailed off. “She’s not doing so well.”

Okay! So I feel like a lot happened in this chapter, but at the same time not very much happened. I'm glad Jaebum took the initiative to figure out what was going on since it was driving Jinyoung crazy. Mark too, but in a less dramatic sense. Or, a less sober sense, should we say?

Anyway, then next few chapters should be a real ride. I think you all will really enjoy what's coming up. At least I hope you do!

As always, let me know what you think in the comments below. I love seeing what everyone has to say. And if you haven't checked it out already, I've started a new Markson fic called "Destined To Be", which is a look at how Mark and Jackson might've met had GOT7 never happened. It's gonna be an interesting little side project for me.

Thanks everyone for sticking with me through these first ten chapters! Here's to many more to come.