Five months passed disturbingly quick. Between schoolwork and added shifts at the club, Mark barely had time to eat, let alone call Jackson on a regular basis. Not that the idol’s schedule was any better. He’d become a fixed cast member on a few more shows and Titan was hastily preparing for their next Asia tour. The two texted and called sporadically, taking advantage of even a few minutes of free time whenever they could.

Sometimes, things got difficult. It was inevitable, they both knew that. Their feelings and the painful distance between them made anger and jealousy and fear bubble up more often than usual. Every time, they worked through whatever argument came to the surface, but there was always a piece of uncertainty left. It came from not being able to resolve anything face-to-face. It came from not being able to hold each other, to kiss each other, to console each other after a particularly heated fight.

Long-distance was hard enough for an established coupled. For a pair that was only just starting to learn about each other, it felt impossible.

Remembering their especially intense fights was a curse that haunted Mark every time he was alone. Only the occasional text or call from Youngjae telling him about the latest game he was playing could distract him enough to momentarily forget.

Sighing after a particularly exhausting shift, Mark stepped out of the club, bag slung over his shoulder, and checked his phone. A couple new messages from a name he didn’t recognize flashed on screen.

Hi Mark. It’s not to creepy that I looked up your username while Jackson was asleep, right? It’s important.
Oh, this is BamBam.

Even after reading the messages a few times, Mark had no idea what was going on. His fingers hovered over the messages for a second, not quite sure what to say, before pulling up the keyboard and typing.

Oh, hi BamBam. What’s up?

It took all his willpower to not just stare at the phone as he walked home. The club wasn’t in a sketchy part of town or anything, but it was still better to keep his attention fixed on his surroundings, and being glued to his phone like a stage 5 clinger wouldn’t help. He stuffed the device into his pocket, pledging to message Jackson immediately when he got home, and started walking.

By the time he made it back to his apartment, Mark’s body was buzzing with curiosity. His phone had vibrated several times during his after-midnight walk, each making him more anxious than the last. He dropped his bag by the door and slumped onto the couch. Not quite ready to retreat to his room just yet, he pulled out his phone and glanced through the notifications. A handful of messages from both BamBam and Jackson waited for him, as well as a text from Jinyoung with just a single winking emoji.

Mark groaned, his nose scrunching up instinctively. It had been their “FYI, I’m having , so don’t bother me” message for as long as he could remember. A digital version of the old fashioned tie on the door. It made them both know exactly when the other was getting some, but it had also prevented any embarrassing walk-ins so far in their friendship.

Hoping his roommates would at least be quiet tonight, Mark opened up the messaging app and skimmed through Jackson’s recap of his morning activities. Most of the time, the idol’s day-to-day schedule seemed the same, enduring grueling training until either he had somewhere else to go or was on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. Mark asked on numerous occasions if the stress and frustration were really worth it all. The answer usually varied, depending on how tired Jackson was or how long was left until his next day off. Inevitably, though, Mark understood that Jackson really loved what he did. It was how he felt about making music. Somedays he just wanted to quit, but he always stuck with it in the end.

He typed up a quick response, detailing in much fewer words how his day of classes and drunk strangers approaching him at work had gone. He then closed out of the conversation and opened the one with BamBam.

So, I’m guessing you know our Korea concert is days before Jackson’s birthday?

Mark smirked. If felt good to know secret information, especially when thousands of fans would kill to know what he did. Not that it did him any good, though. He didn’t have enough money to fly across the world, and Jackson only had enough to pay for his parents’ flights and hotel. It had been one of the several things they’d fought about recently. After several days of convincing Jackson that he really was okay missing the concert this time around, they’d finally dropped the subject completely.

Well, me and Yugyeom were trying to find what to give him and we thought of you!
I mean
We want to pay for flight and hotel so you can come.
And you’ll have backstage access and all that stuff.
Please O.O

Though he had no idea what the guy’s voice sounded like, Mark could almost imagine BamBam rambling the messages in real life. The two younger members were desperate to give Jackson a truly memorable gift, and they’d managed to figure out that Mark was the win-win solution.

Sure, Mark texted back. I’d like that.

Seeing Jackson perform had become a dream of Mark’s, one he didn’t tell anyone about, not even his soulmate himself. He was eternally bound to the idol, so it wasn’t like he thought he’d only have one opportunity. Missing the chance this time around hadn’t bothered him too much. But now that BamBam had offered such a simple solution, he was tingling with joy, stunted only by the fatigue crashing over his body.

Meandering into his room, Mark managed to peel off everything except his underwear before collapsing face-first onto his bed. For now, he needed to rest. But in the morning, the planning would begin.

 

Usually, the venue before a show was filled with a quiet explosion of staff, all buzzing around in a way that could put any onlooker into a trance. It reminded Jackson of an ant hill, hundreds of individuals all going their own way, doing their own thing, but striving toward one common goal. Some days, he just stood in a corner and watched, amazed at how much got done in such a short period of time.

This time, he didn’t have the spare time to waste. Two figures, one small and fragile, the other slightly larger and more muscled, made their way across the empty floor where thousands of fans would be standing later that night.

“Mommy!” Jackson’s squeal echoed through the huge arena as he darted straight for the pair. In a matter of seconds, he was enveloped in the woman’s arms. His father wrapped his arms around both of them, laughing quietly as his wife and son cried in his embrace. Between his mother’s worsening health and the chaos of his own schedule, Jackson almost never had the opportunity to see them anymore.

“Did you get plenty of sleep?” his mother asked once she’d stopped crying, pulling his face into her hands. “You look well. You’ve been eating all your meals?” Jackson just nodded in reply, a few last tears sliding down his face.

“I see you’re still keeping your body in shape,” his father added. He squeezed one of Jackson’s biceps lightly, nodding at the feeling of strong muscle underneath.

Jackson smiled and nodded again. “I try to work out every day,” he explained. “Sometimes I don’t get the chance, though.”

“That’s okay,” he dad replied. “It’s good for your body to get a break every now and then.”

“I’m sad we don’t get to meet this boy you’re always telling me about,” his mother said, easily shifting the conversation. “Will we meet him soon?”

The idol tensed a little. Mark not being able to come was still a bit of a sore subject, despite the months he’d had to get over it. He just wanted everyone he loved to be around him for his birthday. That just wasn’t how it worked out this time. He kept reminding himself that there was always next year.

“Hopefully,” Jackson replied after too long of a pause. “We promised last time we were together that we’d see each other soon, but-”

“Mr. and Mrs. Wang! Hello!” Jackson’s managed walked over to them, waving as he called out to them in extremely rough Cantonese. He bowed politely to each of them before turning to Jackson, his limited Cantonese now exhausted. “The crew is almost ready to start final light and sound checks,” he said. “Why don’t you go show your parents the stage then head back.”

Jackson nodded then quickly translated for his parents. Bidding the trio a brief goodbye, the manager disappeared back into the backstage area. Jackson led his parents onto the stage, chattering away about all the exciting things they were going to do during the show. He pointed out every trapdoor and confetti cannon as they walked by it. Judging by his parents’ look of sheer amazement as they took in just how huge the venue was, Jackson wasn’t even sure they were listening to him. He kept talking anyway, glad to fill the silence.

Every now and then, when they would pause to look at something, Jackson would notice the casual way his mother leaned into his father’s side, his arm wrapped gently around her waist for support. It was something they’d done for as long as he could remember. Now that he had Mark, though, he felt a twinge of jealousy. How comfortable they were together was something that could only be attained by being around each other constantly. It was a level of comfort that he so desperately wanted to reach with Mark, but knew he wouldn’t for a while.

As they walked the last stretch back to the main stage, Jackson grabbed his mother’s hand and squeeze it lightly. Before she could ask what was wrong, Yugyeom and BamBam came running out onto the stage. They acted more like two goofy puppies than two of the most popular idols in Korea. That’s why they all got along so well, though.

Already more than familiar with Jackson’s parents, the two immediately bombarded them with hugs. Their verbal communication was limited at best, relying on broken English, but it got the job done. They managed to have brief conversations among themselves, exchanging pleasantries and talking about the venue.

“Oh, hyung,” BamBam said, looking over at Jackson. “We didn’t wanna wait to give you your present.”

“Yeah, it’s backstage,” Yugyeom added.

Never one to turn down a gift from the two younger members, especially on his birthday, Jackson smiled and took his mother’s hand once again. They followed the two bouncing idols backstage, passing up door after door until they came across one with a large “TITAN” sign plastered on it. Yugyeom and BamBam glanced at each other and giggled before opening the door, motioning for Jackson and his parents to go in first.

It only took the older a second to realize what the two had been snickering about. Sitting on the far side of the couch was Mark, nervously twiddling his thumbs. Jackson squealed, giving the other barely enough time to get to his feet before he lifted him up and spun him around. Laughter flowed out of Mark’s mouth easily, his nerves disappearing instantly. The two didn’t even say anything at first, simply holding on to each other and enjoying the feeling of being next to each other.

Once they separated, Jackson held on to Mark’d hand, their fingers lacing together naturally. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were coming,” he whined. “You said you had a big test you needed to study for.”

“I promised BamBam I’d keep it a surprise,” Mark replied.

“Wait, you’re my present?” Mark nodded, his smile making Jackson’s stomach do little flips. The idol let go of his hand just for a moment, trapping the two younger members in the biggest bear hug imaginable before heading back to Mark’s side.

Jackson’s mind was a mess, blinded by surprise and joy so much that he could barely think about anything else. His wish to have his parents and the man he loved together with him on his birthday had seemed like such an unattainable dream, but now, everyone was here.

“Mommy. Daddy,” he said, waving his parents over. They moved across the room together, two halves of a perfectly harmonious whole, and stopped in front of the newly-reunited pair. “Mommy, daddy, this is Mark,” Jackson introduced, switching to Mandarin so Mark could understand. “Mark, these are my parents.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Mark said, bowing politely as he shook their hands.

“You speak Mandarin?” Jackson’s dad asked, surprise evident on his face.

Mark smiled shyly and nodded. “My parents only speak Mandarin at home, and I practice when I visit Taiwan.

Suddenly excited that they’d be able to talk to their son’s soulmate without any sort of language barrier between them, Jackson’s parents immediately warmed up to Mark. Jackson’s mother picked up his free hand, guiding him away so they could sit on the couch, leaving Jackson behind with his father. “She’s barely said a word to him, but it looks like she likes him already,” Jackson said, relief threading his voice. He watched the nervous tension in Mark’s shoulders slowly melt away as she asked him question after question.

“She liked him before she even met him,” Jackson’s father added. He smiled as he watched the two talk, glad that there was someone new around for his wife to talk to. “Anyone who makes you as happy as you have been the past few months is a great person in our books.”

A big sigh slipped out of Jackson’s lips. Looking back, him and Mark had known each other for so long now. And yet, he felt like they barely knew each other. At least, not as much as they should given how long they’d been talking. “Do you think there’s ever going to be a chance for us to actually be together?” Jackson muttered, just loud enough for his dad to hear. “I mean, do you think we’ll ever get to be normal?”

The sigh that came out of his father’s mouth made his stomach drop. While he didn’t always like it in the heat of the moment, Jackson appreciated his father’s honesty. The man never beat around the bush. He was always the first to tell Jackson his unfiltered opinion. It was a trait that Jackson wished he had sometimes. His mother’s desire for everyone to be happy clashed with the brutal honesty too strongly, though.

“You gave up your chance at a normal life the second you debuted, Jackson,” his father admitted. A strong arm fell over Jackson’s shoulders. He glanced over to see his father, eyes still fixed on his wife and Mark on the couch. “The better question is are you willing to give up everything for him?”

Jackson looked back over at Mark. Something about him made Jackson feel different every time he looked at him. Everything else in the world faded away, the world around him going back to black and white while Mark kept his beautiful sun-kissed color. Jackson felt warm and safe every time he looked at his soulmate, like nothing in the world could hurt him so long as Mark was standing next to him.

“I think I am,” Jackson replied. Because ever since he’d first laid eyes on him, Mark had become his entire world.

Hey everyone! It's been a while. The closer we get to the end, the longer it takes me to write up each chapter, it seems. That's just because I want to make each one better than the last. I think I'm doing that. The next chapters will really determine that, though. Look forward to them. ;)

As always, let me know what you think in the comments below.