There was barely any time to really appreciate the sudden appearance of color in his life. It dotted his vision everywhere, shading in signs and clothes all around him. It even appeared in the mob of fans that rushed at him as soon as Jackson got dragged away.

Getting out of the airport after that. With no personal security guards of his own, there was nothing to stop a handful of extremely nosy fans from trying to surround Mark every chance they got. They overwhelmed him with questions, demanding that he tell them what Jackson had said to him and what he’d done with Mark’s phone. “It’s not fair,” they kept saying, complaining about how he’d gotten to have a conversation with their future husband when they couldn’t.

Mark was beyond relieved that there were no physical signs of finding your soulmate. If any of these fans knew about them, about what had just been revealed, he’d probably been on his way to the hospital by now, if not dead.

He wondered how popular someone had to be to have such insane fans following them around. By the time Mark grabbed his checked bag and settled into the taxi taking him to his hotel, he’d already started searching for “Jackson GaGa” on the internet. Nothing useful came up. He scowled, trying to remember if the other had said what he was famous for. When he couldn’t remember, he just typed “Jackson famous”. Lots of varying results appeared with that, naturally, so Mark narrowed it down by adding “Hong Kong” to the list.

A row of breathtaking pictures of Jackson popped up, followed by article after article with titles that screamed gossip.

Jackson Wang Saves Life at Airport.

Who is Jackson’s New Friend? Fans Demand Answers.

He opened them one by one. All of them featured pictures of Mark and Jackson talking, some less flattering than others. It felt weird, seeing his face on all these websites. Never in his 22 years of existence had he imagined to see himself front and center on gossip news sites on the other side of the world. He wondered how many people actually read these stories.

Mark scowled after scanning through the first few. Some had gone so far as to suggest they were secret lovers who’d planned the whole encounter as an excuse to see each other during Jackson’s busy schedule. Rumors got out of hand fast, it seemed. Those were the last straw. He knew full well that facts weren’t something those kinds of sites focused on. If he wanted to learn more about Jackson, he needed to stay far, far away from articles like those.

When he arrived at the hotel, he immediately checked in and hurried up to his room, shocked to see a few girls in the lobby pointing at him and taking pictures with their phones. Word didn’t just spread fast, it spread almost instantaneously. Once he got to his room, he moved his bag against the wall and dropped onto the bed, suddenly exhausted from everything that had happened. Part of him wanted to just curl up and fall asleep. But that seemed like a waste of the little time he had in Hong Kong. Besides, all the commotion at the airport made him hungry.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Mark’s thumb hovered over the contacts tab for a second. He’d meant to just search nearby restaurants, but the idea of messaging Jackson popped into his head as he saw the button. The international texting charges would be ridiculous, but he couldn’t remember the name of the app Jackson mentioned at the airport. He laid on the bed, staring at his home screen. Wouldn’t texting him now seem too desperate? What did he even say? “Hi, it’s that guy from the airport, where can I get something to eat?”

But Mark knew he wouldn’t be able to think about anything else until he sent something. He scrolled through the few contacts in his phone, finding “GaGa” easily, and opened up a new message. After typing and deleting his message a dozen times, Mark finally settled on something simple enough that it couldn’t go wrong.

“Hey, it’s Mark from the airport. What was the name of that app you mentioned?”

He sent the message before he could overthink it and dropped his phone next to him. For a few seconds, he considered just lying there on the bed, waiting until Jackson responded. But Mark was sure Jackson had other things to do. The way his manager all but dragged him out of the airport must’ve meant he had a busy day.

Even though he’d only slept on the plane, Mark still felt disgusting. Maybe that’s what happened when dozens of crazy girls follow you around, he thought. A shower would pass the time, not to mention feel great. If he didn’t hear back from Jackson by the time he finished, he’d see what he could find to eat.

The long, warm shower that he planned on taking quickly turned into a short and slightly aggravating one. The shower head was pathetic and the water pressure changed so much that it was a struggle just to get clean. Once he’d managed to scrub down his body and rinse most of the shampoo out of his hair, Mark gave up. He ran the towel over his platinum hair a few times before wrapping it around his waist and stepping out.

Deciding on what to wear only took a few minutes, as he picked out a pair of ripped up skinny jeans and a couple long-sleeve shirts. If he was going to wander around the city, he at least wanted to be comfortable.

He’d moved on to aimlessly messing with his hair when he heard his text notification ring from the other room. He dropped everything, rushing to his phone faster than he would ever admit to anyone, and stared at the screen. There was a text, but the name wasn’t the one he’d expected.

Mom: Why am I seeing your photo all over the internet?

Mom: Why did you meet Jackson Wang and not tell me?

Mom: Did you at least get an autograph for me?

Something inside him twisted, excitement slowly fading into disappointment. He fell back onto the bed as his mind suddenly filled with all the people who’d taken his picture since the moment he ran into Jackson. The articles he’d seen in the taxi all featured pictures of him. A big nobody compared to the person he’d been standing next to, that was for sure. And now, his mother had seen them.

He looked back at his phone, taking a minute to marvel at the obscure shade of the leaves in his background image before reopening his mom’s texts.

Mark: Sorry. I just bumped into him on accident.

He paused for a minute, trying to decide if his mother was really the best person to ask his next question. He knew that she would most likely figure everything out in a heartbeat if he did. He just hoped that she didn’t freak out about it all.

Mark: What color is this picture?

He attached his background image and closed out of the conversation. He couldn’t stand thinking about his mother squealing on the other side of the world right now.

Without even thinking, he started searching Jackson’s name again. This time, he focused on Wikipedia and bio pages instead of the gossip articles that distracted him before. He made a few quick mental notes as he read. Jackson was younger than him, but only by a few months. He was a singer in South Korea. It looked like he traveled a lot filming TV shows in both China and Korea. He’d already won awards for his TV appearances.

It all overwhelmed Mark. He knew that Jackson was a star, sure. The fangirls and paparazzi all but screamed popularity. But an international sensation was a whole other story. How could he ever even talk to someone that famous without getting swarmed by random people? And, truly, a life in front of a camera was the last thing he wanted.

His phone buzzed again. This time, he waited for a minute, simmering in his thoughts. His mom could wait a few extra seconds. But he almost choked when he finally looked at the screen.

GaGa: Couldn’t stay away, huh? ;) It’s Kakao.

Mark looked up and installed the app without a second thought. He wanted to keep talking with Jackson, and international texting costed a fortune. That was something he really didn’t have. This was his only solution. Only a few suggested contacts popped up. He recognized a couple as his cousins and other relatives whose numbers never got deleted from his phone.

Then, right in the middle of the list, there was one without a picture that just said 852Puppy. The name didn’t seem like something a celebrity would choose as their username, but maybe that was the whole point. Mark double checked the contact number before adding them to his friends.

He didn’t really know what to say to start up the conversation, though. The one line he’d managed to come up with had been used up. After a few minutes, he decided to just send a picture instead of saying anything. Selcas were one of the few things he felt truly gifted at.

Mark raked a hand through his hair a few times, pushing it off to one side before moving his phone up to just the right angle. He took a few shots before feeling confident in one and sending it.

852Puppy: Hello to you too.

852Puppy: Just hanging out in a hotel room?

Mark smiled, trying not to think too much about the fact that Jackson must have looked at the picture long enough to study the background.

SilenT93: Just about to go find some food.

SilenT93: Any suggestions?

The search results for food nearby seemed average at best. If Mark really wanted good food, he’d have to catch a taxi and go further into the city. He glanced at the time. It was already 2 in the afternoon. If he went downtown, he might as well stay there for the rest of the day.

852Puppy: I’ve got a place in mind, but I wanna take you there myself, if you’re up for it.

Mark’s breath caught as he read the message over and over again. Was Jackson asking him out? It seemed like it. But then again, maybe it was just some exclusive place you could only get in if you were a celebrity. Maybe he was just being friendly.

He rolled his eyes at his own uncertainty. Who would take a stranger to a fancy place if they just wanted to be friends? He wanted to ask Jackson if he meant it as a date, but he couldn’t find the courage to type out the question.

SilenT93: I’m only here until tomorrow at afternoon.

852Puppy: What? Where are you going?

SilenT93: Taiwan.

852Puppy: Oh.

852Puppy: Let me make a call.

Mark frowned, returning to his food search. Why was he making a call? Who was he calling? Marks’ mind filled up with these stupidly obsessive questions. After a few more minutes of dismal food search results, he sat up, packed up his backpack and headed down to the lobby.

Settling into a chair as the front desk attendant called him a taxi, Mark barely noticed the girls across the room pointing and giggling. Barely. The were different that those who’d been snapping pictures of him when he came in earlier, which surprised Mark even more.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

852Puppy: I’ve got filming until 8, but I can pick you up around 9. Where are you staying?

It took all of three seconds for Mark to type out the name of the hotel. He heard the girls giggle again, their whispering getting louder and louder by the minute. As he found out, glancing up at them was a terrible choice. They all stared at each other for a minute before the girls held out their phones, pointed his way.

Mark averted his attention back to his phone, trying desperately to fade into the background as best he could.

SilenT93: How do you handle all the attention?

852Puppy: I guess I just got used to it after a while. Why?

SilenT93: There’s people taking my picture any time I’m in the lobby. It’s awkward.

852Puppy: They recognize you? Already?

SilenT93: I guess so?

852Puppy: . I’m sorry.

SilenT93: For what?

852Puppy: Dragging you into all this.

852Puppy: I never meant to.

842Puppy: If I could make it stop, I would.

Mark took a deep breath. Maybe only staying for a day wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Maybe if he left, people would leave him alone. Maybe they’d forget all about him. But that was a lot of maybes. Part of him wanted to believe they could happen. Deep down, though, he knew they were just fantasies, unlikely of ever becoming reality.

A/N: Whew! I finally got this chapter done. I had a lot of it written a few days ago, but I just couldn't find the motivation to finish it. I was originally going to go further in the plot with this chapter, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting much longer for a new chapter and, with the album dropping in less than 48 hours (OHMYGOSH), I don't know how much writing I'll be doing in the next week or so. Haha

Anyway, what did you all think? Were Jackson's crazy fans as nightmarish as you thought they would be? Where is Jackson going to take Mark for late dinner?

Don't forget to buy Flight Log: Departure and stream and talk about the boys on SNS! Gotta make this comeback strong!