Hello all~

I'm back with a short story that I whipped up as a form of procrastination :)

I hope you all enjoy this and sorry for the grammatical errors as this was not beta-ed.

Take Care~

It was a chilly and cold afternoon in Seoul, the navy blue oversized jacket Mark was wearing doing absolutely nothing to protect his spine from feeling the intruding chill running up from his lower back to his neck. Mark sighed as he brought his eyes towards the cloudy skies, instinctively bringing his arms to crossover his body, trying to pool as much warmth within his thin body.

He groaned inwardly to himself when he saw the minute hand on his watch reach 6, realizing that Jackson was late once again. Jackson had asked him to meet up at a café that was nearby the JYP headquarters, surprised that the younger had time for some one-on-one with all the schedules he had - their future planned meeting being next week.

Jackson Wang.

In all of Mark's years of working with that man that seemed to have the energy of a kid on Halloween all the time, Mark will never forget the time that they had first met. They first crossed paths at a very scary and anxiety-filled moment of Mark's life - the beginning of their trainee days. 

"Hey you."  

Back then, Mark could hardly speak any Korean, and when this black-haired trainee adorned with chains and a snapback came up to him the very first day he was at the dorm, he was scared less. At least in Mark's eyes, Jackson looked very intimidating, his voice stuttering to answer the boy back in broken Korean. 

"Hello. My n-name is Mark."  

"Jackson, where are you from?"  

"Los Angeles"  

Mark would never forget that moment when he had said where he came from, the high pitched scream that came out of Jackson's mouth forever ingraining into his memory, unconsciously chuckling as he fixed the beanie on top of his head. He remembered thinking just how similar Jackson's scream is to a hyena's howl - something out of The Lion King. 

"Oh my god. You speak English?" 

"Yes"

"Me too! This is great. I finally have someone to talk to here. Let's be friends okay?"

"Okay."

During that moment, Mark was more than relieved that he found someone that also spoke his native tongue, no longer feeling alone in the foreign country of Korea. Also, the bad boy persona that Jackson emitted was completely gone the moment Jackson smiled, his cheeks raising up towards the edges of his face and his eyes turning into half-moon crescents.

It was a nice smile he remembered thinking back then.

An unforgettable and warm smile that genuinely showed just how much Jackson was happy to meet him.

That was the beginning of their friendship. The days after that were all smashed together because they were either singing, dancing or learning Korean. Though, Mark was thankful back then that his friendship with Jackson soon grew to be close, the endless talking of the younger boy occupying Mark's time and head so that he wouldn't think about an issue that he faced in his past - the homesickness.

"Mark-hyung what's wrong? It's harder to make you smile today."

"Nothing Jacks, don't worry about me."

"Don't say that. We're best friends. I always worry about you. I always thin-"

"You're such a sap."

"Alright, If you aren't going to tell me - I'll just get your mind off it then." 

"Wha--"

Mark grimaced as a cool breeze hit his face as he recalled the way Jackson grabbed his wrist that time and pulled him towards a nearby convenience store, immediately buying both of them ice cream cones. Mark remembered that he couldn’t help but feel happy that Jackson continued to be by his side, even the times when the memories of his parents and siblings became too strong. Jackson stuck to his side back then, always making sure that he was never alone in his thoughts, something that Mark realized now would have been really dangerous back then. 

Jackson always managed to make him smile, whether it was a forced or genuine smile - it meant volumes to Mark. 

Mark looked at his watch once again, realizing that the minute hand now laid on top of the 9, scanning his surroundings in hopes that he would catch Jackson running towards the café. Though, the picture of Jackson running allowed a certain memory to resurface in Mark's thoughts - the day when they had won their first win at a music show as GOT7. 

Mark remembered that Jackson had sprinted away from the group as soon as they got backstage after they received their award. Mark could still hear the way Jaebum called to Jackson and how fast Jack