“You must be Jackson.” Youngjae screamed internally when Mark managed to get to the door before him.

“Yes, I’m Jackson… who are you?”  Jackson looked completely frazzled over the fact that someone who’s not Youngjae or Jinyoung was answering Youngjae’s door.

“Don’t look so worried,” Mark laughed at Jackson’s expression.  “It’s nothing weird, I’m Youngjae’s roommate.”

“Oh,” Mark let Jackson inside.  “Wait, that means your Jinyoung’s boyfriend?”

“You look shocked.”  Mark closed the door behind Jackson.

“It’s nothing… well,” Jackson gave Mark another once-over. “I didn’t think Jinyoung would be dating someone so… hot.”

“What is that supposed to mean?!”  Jinyoung’s voice startled Jackson so badly he tripped and fell onto the couch.

“Since when were you here?!”  Jinyoung sat on the couch in his pyjamas with his arms crossed.

“I’m always here!”  Jinyoung yelled back.

“What, you’re finally admitting to it?”  Youngjae added but Jinyoung selectively ignored him.

“Are you trying to say Mark is out of my league?!”  Jinyoung had the most unimpressed look on his face and Jackson was panicking.

“That’s totally not what I meant,” Jackson gave Youngjae a pleading look but Youngjae knew better than to mess with Jinyoung when he was irritated.  Jackson was on his own.  “I was just… amazed two people as gorgeous as you guys were able to find each other.  True beauty is hard to find these days, am I right?”

Jinyoung huffed and Jackson looked like he was praying God would make his death swift and painless.

The atmosphere was quickly squashed by Mark bursting out laughing in that ridiculous yet endearing high-pitched laugh of his.  “Jackson, you’re funny.”  Jinyoung looked betrayed for a moment until Mark walked over and flopped on top of him.  “Jinyoungie…”  He snuggled into his side and Jinyoung’s face softened.

“Hmm?”  Jinyoung let himself be cuddled, he couldn’t resist Mark’s charm.

“Didn’t you want to go out today?  I have work again tomorrow!  We should go shower and leave.”  Mark suggested as he pulled himself up. 

Jinyoung glared at Jackson one last time before letting him live to see another day.  “You’re right,” Jinyoung got up and headed for the bathroom.  “Are you coming?”  He asked when Mark stayed put.

“Just give me a minute!”  He said with a cute smile and Jinyoung just squeezed his cheek and went ahead without him.

“Thank you so much, you saved me!”  Jackson bowed at Mark’s feet.  Mark only laughed again.

“It’s fine,” Mark said, pulling him back up off his knees.  “Are you going out with Youngjae today?”

“Yeah, he has another date- “Mark didn’t let Jackson finish before he pulled him closer by the collar, staring directly into his eyes as he spoke in a scarily stern tone.

“Listen, if you ever harm Youngjae physically or emotionally I will make you regret ever being born, got that?”  Jackson looked like he was about to pee his pants he was so scared.

“Yes!”  Jackson squeaked and Mark let go of his shirt.

“Good, have fun on your date Youngjae!”  He casually switched backed to his cheerful tone.  “Jinyoungie, I’m coming!  Don’t use up all the hot water without me!”

“Is… I… what just happened?”  Jackson looked at Youngjae who seemed completely unfazed by Mark’s behaviour.

“Mark can be scary sometimes, one time he got so angry at me he punched the air conditioner in the car and broke it.”

“He got angry at you?! What…”  Jackson was still shocked by the sudden turn of events.  “Wait, so Jinyoung is scary, and Mark is scary…”

“They’re like a match made in heaven, right?”

“You’re a music major?”  Jackson was flopped on a couch watching Youngjae flip through songs on the karaoke machine in front of them.

“Yes, with a specialization in vocals.” 

“You want to be a singer?” 

“Hmm, I could start off as a singer,” Youngjae fiddled with the cord of the microphone he was holding.  “I want to be a music therapist actually, I think music is great for healing.”

“I’ve never even heard of that before!  I can understand how it would work though,” Jackson checked his phone as if he was waiting for someone to call him.  “Your date is supposed to arrive soon, I’ll just hide behind this couch.”

“Really?  You’re going to get caught, there’s no way you can stay hidden in this tiny room.”

“Wanna bet?”  Jackson challenged, sliding the couch out and ducking behind it.  “Oh, it’s actually kind of gross back here.  Can you make this date a short one?”

“You don’t have to do this you know, I can handle myself.” 

“No way!  I’m still traumatized be the theatre incident, this tiny room is dangerous.”  Jackson yelled back.

“Suit yourself,” Youngjae stood up and decided to start singing without his date for the night arriving.  “When is this guy supposed to be here?”

“Technically, he was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago but I’m sure he’s just running late.” 

“Alright, whatever.” Youngjae started up a soft ballad gave a few short yells to warm up his voice.  Karaoke was his specialty.

 “Isn’t this song kind of sad?”  Jackson said as the music filled the room.  It was funny talking to Jackson while he was hidden behind the sofa.

“I like ballads.”  Youngjae was ready to put his vocals to the test.  He’d been slacking on his vocal exercises.

Youngjae started singing, the notes sliding off his tongue with relative ease.  He wasn’t upset with the results but he still was never satisfied with his voice either.  He needed more training.

He wasn’t even halfway through the song when Jackson popped his head from behind the sofa, staring at Youngjae sing.  Youngjae suddenly felt pressured, but he carried on as if nobody were watching.

He finished the song with a drawn-out note, his voice booming through the small room.  Jackson suddenly climbed back over the sofa and started applauding.  “Wow, your voice is amazing!”

“I still need more training.”  Youngjae flushed.  He wasn’t used to such genuine comments.

“Really?  You already sound so good, what more do you need to learn?” 

Youngjae was touched Jackson thought so highly of him.  “Thank you.”

Jackson pulled out his phone and stared at the screen again.  “Is it safe to say your date’s so late he’s not going to show up?”

“I’ve been stood up?”  Youngjae frowned and Jackson tried to back pedal.

“That doesn’t mean they didn’t want to see you, maybe something came up, or they had cold feet?  It’s my fault, I haven’t been that great at this whole matching thing recently…”

“It’s fine, honestly you don’t have to do this for me anymore.  My event is the day after tomorrow and I’m sure I could get Mark or Jinyoung to go with me- “

“No!”  Jackson grabbed Youngjae’s arm but then immediately backed down.  “I mean, that would be awkward.  There’s still one more day, there’s still hope.”

“Honestly, I don’t mind.  Dating never comes naturally to me.  I’m still not sure what exactly I’m looking for, and I don’t think I’ll be able to figure that out in less than a day.  I don’t want to trouble you any more than I already have.”

“Youngjae,” Jackson grabbed him by the shoulders.  “I told you I’m doing this for your sake, you don’t need to worry.”

“I still don’t know why you care so much.”

“I don’t know why I care so much either…”  Jackson spoke more to himself than to Youngjae. 

“Jackson…”

“Hmm?”  Youngjae hated how low the mood had dropped.

“I haven’t said this yet but thank you for everything.  I really do appreciate you and everything you’ve done.”

Jackson smiled.  “You don’t need to thank me, I haven’t helped you at all.”

“Of course, you’ve helped me.  I feel a lot more confident about dating because of you.  This week has a been a lot of fun too.”  Youngjae assured Jackson.

“I had a lot of fun too,” Jackson pulled Youngjae in for a hug before Youngjae could process what was going on.  “I think you’ve taught me some things as well.”

Youngjae flushed at the sudden close contact.  He could feel Jackson’s biceps and muscled chest against him.  His stomach was in knots and he couldn’t say anything until Jackson pulled back away.

“Are you okay?  You’re sweating.” 

“What?  I’m fine.”  Youngjae didn’t know why he suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach.

“Alright,” Jackson didn’t seem convinced but he turned his attention away anyways.  “Since we’re here shouldn’t we sing some more songs?  It seems like a waste if we don’t.”

Jackson was flipping through tracks before Youngjae answered.  “You sing?”

“Yes, I sing!  I mean, not as well as you but, I can’t compare myself to the master.” 

“I’m not the master.”

Jackson a fast-paced track, the kind you would hear in a club.  “Youngjae, join me!”

This was ridiculous, but could he expect anything less from Jackson at this point?  He was a little wild and Youngjae admittedly loved it. “Alright!”

Jackson rapped into the microphone, executing dance moves perfectly and Youngjae half laughed and half tried to follow along.

Jackson was belting the lyrics into the microphone, not caring if he sounded good or not.  Passion was key and Youngjae was about to keel over he was laughing so hard.  His dance moves were too on point from it to be his first time doing this.  Youngjae joined in yelling the entire chorus with him, it was a popular song.

When they finally calmed down from that song they went with something slower since they were both sweating.  Jackson showed off his vocals and Youngjae happily complimented him and cheered him on.

“Do you know how pretty you are in my eyes?” Jackson rapped while staring straight at Youngjae. “I want you!  Just as you are, you’re the only one.” He pointed straight at Youngjae.

Youngjae must’ve looked really embarrassed because Jackson had to stop rapping and laugh at his expression.

“You’re too cute.”  Youngjae didn’t know why he was getting so worked up over song lyrics being sung to him as a joke.

“Shut up.”  Youngjae spoke boldly.  They progressed their relationship quickly. Usually, he wouldn’t be so blunt until at least three months of friendship. 

Jackson laughed at him even harder. Jackson started to flip through songs again for another cheerful one to brighten Youngjae mood again, handing him the mic and letting him lead.

After a few more songs Youngjae was exhausted.  Keeping up with Jackson’s excessive dancing was too much for him, despite how much fun he was having.  Jackson still looked like he wanted to keep going but Youngjae lying down on the sofa seemed to get the message across that he was done for the night.

“You know?  I think for tomorrow’s date- “Jackson started but was interrupted by his phone vibrating and beeping in his pocket.  Youngjae glanced at the screen as Jackson checked it.

“Someone responded to my profile?”  Youngjae read. 

Jackson clicked open the notification and opened the guy’s profile and message and Youngjae sat up immediately.  “Yeah- “

“Oh my God, he’s really attractive.  Are you sure he responded to my profile?”  The man had his hair pushed up and at least five piercings. 

“Let’s see, Korean, likes films, majors in music…”  Jackson read out his profile.

“He’s a music major!  Like me!”  Youngjae excitedly clicked on the message icon.  “What did he say to you?”

Def:  Hi, I’m interested in a date.  I’m good with meeting tomorrow, I know a good restaurant.  It’s expensive but you don’t need to worry, I’ll pay.  I’m very interested, please reply soon.

Youngjae was practically glowing.  “Attractive, likes music, and rich?  I think we’ve found the one Jackson.”

“What are those things above his eyes?  Are they moles?  They look stupid.”

“Huh?  I thought they were cute.”

Jackson stared at his phone with malice in his eyes.  “Cute?  This guy looks like he picks up guys on his motorcycle to sleep with him and then asks them to leave in the middle of the night.”

“Are you okay?  Don’t you think it’s a good match?”

“I don’t know,” Jackson saw how excited Youngjae looked and gave in.  “I mean, if you want to, I’ll arrange it.  Just know that this one wasn’t Jackson-approved.”

“To be fair, none of your dates have gone that well so far.”  Youngjae was joking but Jackson still looked dejected.  “Don’t worry, even if it doesn’t work out at least I’ll get a free meal.”

Youngjae decided to smile at him until he couldn’t help but smile back.  Worked every time.  “I appreciate your positivity, I’m just worried.”

“You’ll be there, right?  You have nothing to worry about.  Who knows, he could really be the one.” 

“Yeah,” Jackson sighed softly.  “That’d be great.”

A/N:  Thanks for reading and I hope you have/had a fantastic day. <3