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AUTHOR'S NOTE: HEY Y'ALL~ I'M BACKKKK (after like a week...) I said I'll update on Tuesday, but I didn't say which Tuesday lmfaaaooooo jk jk jk... Anyways, sorry for being away >.< My physical body wasn't feeling the greatest after the concert, so I took some time off to recover. I didn't want to write while feeling like and hurting everywhere. BUT I'M BACK NOW SO >:D

Thank you y'all so much for being patience with this irresponsible writer haha I love y'all so much *cries* 

ENJOY~ AND LEAVE FEEDBACKS~

STAY SAFE AND MAKE GOOD DECISIONS~ 

TUNE IN SATURDAY (CST)~

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    Rolling over to the other side of the bed, Jinyoung groaned and smacked the alarm clock down to the floor. It that he’s back in Seoul now, yet he still had to wake up early. Damn these government jobs. Though, Jinyoung actually stayed in his bed for another twenty minutes before finally convinced himself to get the up. He brushed his teeth, took his usual morning shower, and shaved cleanly. Just the usual routine. Doesn’t matter where he was. Jinyoung dragged himself to his closet and take out a classic black suit out of, probably, twenty of the same. He put it on and stood in front of his mirror. After what felt like years, Jinyoung decided to not style his hair. For some reason. 

 

 

    “Good morning, Young Master,” the Head Maid bowed as soon as she saw Jinyoung ascending down the stairs. “And here we thought you’ll never come down.” 

 

 

    “Breakfast?” Jinyoung asked, putting on his suit jacket. 

 

 

    “All ready!” Another maid, a younger one, chimed in excitedly. Maybe a bit too excited.

 

 

    The young master stared at her questionably, “why are you so different this morning?”

 

 

    Immediately, the young maid covered and bowed low, “I-I’m so sorry… I-I didn’t mean…” 

 

 

    The third maid jumped in to help out, “don’t mind her, sir. She’s just got excited because no one visits the mansion. I mean no one besides Youngjae-nim.”

 

 

    “Someone’s here? I don’t remember inviting anyone over? And why would someone come over so damn early in the morning?” The young master frowned, causing the maids to panic. 

 

 

    “W-we thought he was your friend-"

 

    

    “Well, he said he was your friend-"

 

    

    “He’s wearing the agent uniform, so we thought-"

 

 

    “Oh, he’s very, very, very handsome-"

 

 

    “Yes! A very handsome young man!” 

 

 

    “I think he’s even more handsome than Jaebum-nim-"

 

 

    Jinyoung cuts in abruptly, “wait. He’s not Jaebum?” 

 

 

    The three maids shared a look, “no, sir,” they answered in unison. 

 

 

    Confused and a bit alert, Jinyoung walked past the maids and poked his head into the living room. He gasped and quickly hid himself back against the wall. The three maids mimicked their young master’s action without dropping a beat. The young master stared at his maids with a shocked expression. The maids stared back with matching ones. 

 

 

    “Why is he here?” Jinyoung whispered. 

 

 

    Whispering back, the Head Maid lifted an eyebrow, “isn’t he your friend, Young Master? I mean he said he was…” 

 

 

    “What? No!” The young master cupped a hand over his mouth after realizing how loud that was. He lowered his voice to a soft, careful whisper again, “who told you to let him in? And why wasn’t I informed of this?” 

 

 

    “Well, you weren’t coming down…”

 

 

    “Yeah… Plus he insisted that you were the one who invited him over for breakfast?” 

 

 

    “And he’s super handsome so why not?” 

 

 

    Jinyoung shut his eyes tight and balled his fists in attempt to control his frustration. Clearly, his maids were all playing him right now. Or they just didn’t know how much they ed up. But Jinyoung didn’t have time for that. His number one priority was to leave this mansion without stirring even a mouse. Jinyoung poked his head back into the living room, catching a slight glimpse of the figure of the person he’s been dying to avoid. 

 

 

    “Young Master, what are you doing-"

 

 

    Before the maids could open up for more ways to finesse answers out of Jinyoung, the young master had already dashed to the opposite direction with lightness in each step. No one knew this mansion more than the young master himself. In a few minutes, Jinyoung managed to exit through the garden. He rounded the place and casually made his way to the front with a victorious smile. Feeling accomplished by himself, Jinyoung tuned his head back at the mansion in ease. Surely, he was all safe and sound-

 

 

    “Where are you going?” 

 

 

    Jinyoung’s head snapped towards the familiar voice as he bumped into the firm body up ahead. He bit his lip and cursed under his breath. Just a little more. A little bit more and he’ll be able to drive out of this place. Though, of course, Jinyoung should have expected this to happen if the person he’s running away from is an extremely well-trained agent. 

 

 

    “You’re not eating breakfast?” Mark blocked Jinyoung’s escape. Reaching out to gently, but securely, gripped onto the young master’s arm, Mark flashed an endearing smile. “I was waiting for you.” 

 

 

    “I, um, uh… Um… I don’t, uh, eat, um, breakfast…” Jinyoung stumbled on his words, yet still determined to get them out of his mouth. 

 

 

    “That’s a lie!” The three maids appeared at the doors, crossing their arms against their chests in disappointment. “You always eat before you leave for work, Young Master!”

 

 

    Mentally face-palmed himself, Jinyoung made a reminder to fire all three of them later in the day. What a bunch of useless drama queens. Shouldn’t they read the atmosphere? Jinyoung had thought he made it clear that he’s sneaking out of his own damn mansion just to avoid a meeting with this particular person. This was ridiculous. 

 

 

    “You’re going back in?” Mark gave the three maids a charming smile, a little hint of mischief hung around that attractiveness, as he asked the escaping young master. 

 

 

    Shrugged off Mark’s hold on his arm, Jinyoung tried to show dominance in a glare. Failed miserably. Mark probably thought it was too cute, judging by that shameless grin. The young master rolled his eyes, forcing through the barricade that was Mark’s body. But Mark wasn’t going to let Jinyoung slips away that easily. The two of them stood there, going back and forth between passing and blocking. It dragged on for a while before Jinyoung lost his patience and shoved Mark hard. Was expecting that, Mark moved back a bit to dodge, causing Jinyoung to miss. Wobbling on his feet, Jinyoung fell into Mark’s arms embarrassingly. 

 

 

    “Wow.” Mark smirked, “you’ve fallen for me.” 

 

 

    “Shut up,” Jinyoung groaned, blushing as he pushed himself off of Mark. 

 

 

    “Breakfast?” 

 

 

    “...”

 

 

    “Come on. I didn’t spend the whole night figuring out the password to Jaebum’s phone and read through all his messages just for you to not sit down and have breakfast with me.” 

 

 

    “Nobody asked you!” 

 

 

    “True,” Mark shrugged, already grabbing Jinyoung’s hand, “but I couldn’t stop thinking about what you’ve said yesterday. And besides, just wanted to see what kind of palace Your Majesty resides at.” 

 

    

    “Hey! Let go-"

 

 

    Mark just smiled at Jinyoung’s continuous objection. “Don’t make me carry you in. We both know I will if I have to.” 

 

 

    Jinyoung stopped struggling and let Mark dragged him back into the mansion. “I hate you…” He mumbled under his breath and pouted, eyes shyly gazing at their clasped hands. Jinyoung swore he heard his inner self squealing and drowning in embarrassment. 

 

 

    What Jinyoung didn’t expect was Mark leaning in and whispering in his ear, “and I love you.” 

 

 

    Could this day be any longer… 

 

 

 

 

 

+

+

+

 

 

 

 

 

    “I said no!” The Vice Captain slammed both of his hands on top of the table. “Who suggested this bull? Whose planning was this?!” 

 

 

    The meeting room fell into a suffocating silence. All the agents looked at each other in fear of the angry Vice Captain Park. Captain Im, seated at the head of the table as always, sighed and leaned forward with a bored expression. His hawk eyes did a full scan of everyone in the meeting room. The culprit had already shown themselves, but the Captain decided to let the poor boy lives. “Calm down. No one’s going to come out if you’re standing there looking like a hungry lion. Take a seat.” 

 

 

    Vice Captain Park rolled his eyes and sat down. “Don’t let me catch this dumb son-of-a- who thought it’d be a good idea to stage such an immature ambush. I didn’t get promoted just so I could babysit these good-for-nothings.” 

 

 

    “Give them a break, Jinyoung. You can’t on everyone because of one person’s -up.” 

 

 

    Jinyoung glared at his Captain, “this is a team. If they can’t manage to stop one of the teammates from submitting in this ty suggestion, then they all deserve to be discipline. Team’s efforts, Cap.” 

 

 

    Sighing, Jaebum gave up. His Vice Captain had not yet came back. The month’s still February. Chairman Park’s still lingering around. Jaebum knew how much Jinyoung must be holding it in right now. He could see it in Jinyoung’s eyes. Everyone else could, too. The dark aura of the Chairman stuck to Jinyoung like a plague. This had never happened before. Jinyoung always come back at the beginning of March, after finishing all his "Chairman” business, with relaxed shoulders and fresh smiles. Never did he came back in the middle of February. This was a first. And well, no one knew how exactly should they be dealing with this situation. It was like trying to arm up against the Beast himself. Which was way too risky. Everyone knew better than to mess with the apparent Chairman Park that’s still possessing their Vice Captain’s body, because there’s still two weeks left of February. 

 

 

    While all the agents held their heads low in shame, the door of the room opened. The co-Vice Captain walked in with a greeting smile, automatically brightened up the entire place. Jaebum lifted his head and nodded at his best friend’s entrance. At least the gloomy atmosphere dissolved. Captain Im snuck a look at Vice Captain Park. No more angry Park Jinyoung. Confirmed. 

 

 

    “Sorry, I’m late. Had a little talk with Mister President,” Mark said, seating himself down across from Jinyoung. He didn’t miss the chance to flash a pretty smile at his co-Vice. To which Jinyoung looked away quickly, pretending to listen to Jaebum, who wasn’t even talking or saying anything.

 

 

    “You’re fine. All you missed out on was how scary Jinyoung was. Nothing new.” 

 

 

    “Figures. I thought I walked into a funeral.” 

 

 

    “Funny,” Jinyoung crossed his arms against his chest and rolled his eyes. 

 

 

    Jaebum and Mark forced down a chuckle and pursed their lips. Mark shook his head and reached across to retrieve the folder from Jinyoung. He opened the folder and read over it before looking up at the agents around the room. “I’m guessing one of you wanted to die today, huh.” Mark smiled amusingly. 

 

 

    “Apparently, not just one but all. Because it’s 'team’s efforts,' quote unquote Park Jinyoung.” Jaebum leaned back in his seat. “Our dear Vice here got a rough morning, it seems?”

 

 

    “No way,” Mark faked a little gasp, “he was totally fine this morning at breakfast, though!” 

 

 

    That was completely new information. Jaebum stared at his best friend, “you and him had breakfast together?! You two?!” The shock flooded over the Captain’s face. 

 

 

    Gasps and low whispers of disbelief swept over the room. Jinyoung’s face turned bright red at the unwanted attention. “No, we didn’t! Stop lying-"

 

 

    “I’m not! We had breakfast at your place. Biggest mansion I’ve ever seen in my life. And trust me when I say that, because I’ve seen a lot before,” Mark casually informed the whole team like they were all some old friends getting together to catch up on their lives. 

 

 

    Jaebum raised an eyebrow, “the ? You actually went to his place? You hacked into my phone?!”

 

 

    “I had no choice, okay. And I knew you wouldn’t mind anyways.” 

 

 

    “Mark-"

 

    

    “ALL RIGHT.” Vice Captain Park loudly cut through. “I just want to say that-"

 

 

    “That you had fun at breakfast with me? Awe~ Thank you~” 

 

 

    “NO!” 

 

 

    All the agents covered their mouths to muffle their laughs behind their shaking hands. The scene in front of them was surreal. They never knew their Vice Captain Park could even have a side like this. A side full of shyness and red cheeks and just a full serving course meal of extreme cuteness. A side that’s so different from a few minutes ago before Mark Tuan walked in. 

 

 

    “Breakfast was great, by the way,” Mark smiled wide at the embarrassed Jinyoung. “But ditching me was a move, fellow Vice.” 

 

 

    “I wasn’t! J-Jaebum called me in earl-early…” Jinyoung didn’t know why he felt the need to give an explanation to his, supposedly, sworn enemy. 

 

 

    Captain Im shook his head and raised his arms innocently, “nope. I didn’t. What? Don’t recall that.” 

 

    

    “Jaebum!” 

 

 

    “Um, excuse you, that’s 'Captain Im' for you.” 

 

 

    “You-"

 

 

    “So, Jinyoung-ssi, can I come over for dinner?” Mark boldly asked, eyes sparkling and lips stretching into a gorgeous smile. “I’ll cook.” 

 

 

    The room fell into complete silence. Everyone held their breaths. The tension hung so thickly in the air that some people thought they might just passed out. Excitement bubbled on top of their heads as they anticipated anxiously for their Vice Captain’s reply to that blunt proposal. Normally, the agents would feel bad on whoever tried to even flirt with their Vice Captain. But looking at Vice Captain Park’s face right now, the one they’re feeling bad over had to be their Vice Captain. It’s to be so easily taken by Mark Tuan’s charms. And Park Jinyoung was a perfect example of someone who’s already been swept off his feet from just a simple smile. 

 

 

    “Oh, come on, Vice Cap!” 

 

 

    “Say yes!” 

 

 

    “Vice Cap, losen up and have fun sometimes!” 

 

 

    “Jinyoung-hyungnim, accept it!” 

 

    

    “It’s Valentine’s Day today, hyungnim!”

 

 

    “Oh, ! It is Valentine’s! HYUNGNIM!” 

 

 

    Whines from all corners of the room erupted into Jinyoung’s ears. Everyone was pressuring him into this. He hates how they all taking Mark’s side when he’s the one who’s been with them longer. Jinyoung wouldn’t be surprised if Mark had all of them in on this. But today wasn’t the day-

 

 

    “O-okay… I guess…” Jinyoung found himself said in a soft voice. Why was he like this? Submitting so easily under Mark’s control. He couldn’t believe it himself. Mark had Jinyoung all wrapped up around his finger. 

 

 

    Everyone cheered despite the pure surprise. It’s not everyday to hear their scary Vice Captain Park accepting an invitation to be available for courtship. Or the clueless Park Jinyoung probably didn’t realize what he had just signed up for. Whatever the case, every person in the room was so thrill that Agent Tuan just scored a dinner at the Park Jinyoung’s mansion without much of a fight. Well, they already had breakfast. Might as well hit up that dinner, too. 

 

 

    Mark smirked, a shameless and cocky smirk, knowing exactly that Jinyoung will agree since the start. “Peachy. Can’t wait.” 

 

 

    Jinyoung hung his head low and groaned inwardly to himself. How could he be so careless? He fell right into Mark’s trap. Why didn’t he think before saying ? Can time turn back? Please? Jinyoung felt so embarrassed. He’d rather dug a hole and buried himself alive than sit here with everybody’s eyes on him, while his heart ramming against his ribcage like a mad dog. The Universe wasn’t going to let him live anytime soon. Maybe this was his punishment. Being bewitched by Mark Tuan was Jinyoung’s eternal curse. And the curse had no cure. No spell to break it. Jinyoung was stuck with this curse for as long as he lives. Hell, this curse just might follows him even after his death. 

 

 

    “Great. Go ahead and cancel OUR dinner plans, Tuan,” Jaebum rolled his eyes, acting as if Mark had walked all over his heart. Everyone in the room could tell their Captain was just kidding. Everyone but Jinyoung. So Jaebum decided to push it. “And here I thought I’ll be having fun tonight. I’ve taken such good care of you, and this is how I’m being treated? You left me for him? He who don’t really care about you?” 

 

 

    Mark quirked his eyebrow. The urge to roll his eyes was pretty tempting. “Jae-"

 

 

    “Oh, off, Im,” Jinyoung suddenly lifted his head and threw his head back in exasperation. Tired of Jaebum’s bull. Or just Im Jaebum in general. Though, a lot more now, since unconsciously, Jinyoung felt threatened by Jaebum’s extremely close friendship with Mark. “The world don’t revolve around you. Grow the up.” 

 

 

    The agents in the room shared looks with each other. Their Vice Captain was irritated enough to actually cursed in the middle of a meeting like this. was serious. Without another word, one by one, they quietly exited the room. Meeting was long over anyways. Better to escape now than regret not to later. The tension was so damn thick, it could cut raw Grade A beef in one smooth glide. The smartest choice was to leave before the blade sharpened. 

 

 

    “Me? You’re telling me to ‘grow the up’? Shouldn’t this be applied to you instead? If anyone’s acting like a goddamn five-year-old here, it’ll be you, Park,” Jaebum scoffed, tone shifting from just joking to actual seriousness. “So why don’t you do the world a favor and grow the up.”

 

 

    Fueled by Jaebum’s attitude, Jinyoung wasn’t about to lose this fight. He stood up. “Don’t ing start with me. At least I don’t around and throw myself on just anybody.” 

 

 

    “Excuse me?!” 

 

 

    “Yeah, you’re excused, all right. You and your pathetic self unable to find love. How sad. You’re coping by ing around? Do you ever learn, Im? Sleeping with a different chick every night won’t cure you from your numb heart. It’s a disease. You’ll never be cured. You’re just going to die miserably by yourself.” 

 

 

    “Jinyoung, take that back! How could you say that?! Have you got shame anymore? How low of you. You’re the pathetic one. Not me. Next time, if you want to insult me, try something more mature than the fact that I’m enjoying and experiencing myself. Disappointing. I expected more than that bull you just gave me.” 

 

 

    “…”

 

 

    “But who the do you think you are? Huh? Who the are you?” Jaebum stood up from his seat, feeling fire burning on the surface of his skin. He had never been possessive of his best friend, but Park Jinyoung needed to be taught a lesson. “All this hate stemmed from your ugly jealousy! You can’t stand me being close to Mark, can you?”

 

 

    “Tha-that’s not-"

 

 

    “Look here, sweetie. I’ve known Mark since preschool. We grew up together. There’s nothing about him that I don’t know. We’ve been through too many s together. He loves me, and I love him. Our love is unconditional. And you’ll never break us apart. Because we’re a part of each other’s lives. So who the are you? You have the audacity to think you could compete against me? How cute. Jinyoung, you surely don’t know what I can do to you. Sit the down and stop acting like I took your favorite toy away. Because I didn’t. It belonged to me from the very beginning.”

 

 

    “ you, Im Jaebum. Doesn’t mean if you were there from the beginning. Doesn’t change the fact that the person Mark loves is ME. Not you.” 

 

 

    “So you take pride in that? That Mark loves you?” 

 

 

    “… Um, I-"

 

 

    “I’m sick of your bull, Jinyoung. Stop saying s like that. You’re just hurting Mark.” 

 

 

    “Wha-"

 

 

    “Who was it that stepped over Mark like he’s just another one of those useless chess pieces?”

 

 

    “I didn’t-"

 

 

    “ you, Park Jinyoung. You got my best friend shot. And walked all over his damn feelings, because you’re an arrogant bastard with no emotions!” 

 

 

    “Jaebum, that’s enough,” Mark finally gave up being a bystander to all of this. At first, it was just banters, but it escalated way faster than Mark had expected. “Both of you. Sit the down.” 

 

 

    The Captain and Vice listened and took their seats. Jinyoung looked awfully offended and hurt, while Jaebum was just fuming with anger. But the looks they’re giving each other spoke more words than what actually been spoken. Being partners for so long, they understood each other quite well. Jaebum didn’t mean a lot of the stuff he had said. And Jinyoung knew. Jinyoung also knew that Jaebum was sincere and had only wanted the best for his well-deserving best friend. Jaebum wasn’t threatening Jinyoung. He just wanted to know if Jinyoung could be as sincere as he is. Just wanted to know if Jinyoung could love Mark as much as Mark loves Jinyoung. 

 

 

    But how was that even possible if Jinyoung doesn’t even know what he wants?

 

 

    “Drop the reports at my office later,” Captain Im said, getting up and gathering his things. He didn’t say anything more. Doesn’t need to. His silence was louder than any words. 

 

 

    With the room holding just two presences, the air seemed to soften. Awkward. But not heated. There wasn’t a single eyes-contact for what felt like hundreds of years to Jinyoung. Mark’s silence added on to the growing anxiety that’s ready to blast a cannon directed at Jinyoung. He was pretty sure Mark was staring, but he didn’t confirm. There’s no way he’d risk a dangerous eyes-contact just to have a check up on the situation.

 

 

    “I didn’t say this before,” Mark started, breaking the stillness of the awfully quiet room, “but you look different today.” 

 

 

    “What are you talking about…” Jinyoung’s eyes widened as he watched Mark approaching him with a teasing grin. 

 

 

    Mark reached up, sliding his slender fingers in between strands of Jinyoung’s soft bed of neatly combed hair. “You didn’t style it.” A little smile played on Mark’s lips as he petted Jinyoung with the utter most gentleness. So kind. So loving. 

 

 

    Jinyoung immediately smacked Mark’s hand away. His cheeks turned red as he tried to avoid eye-contact. “D-don’t touch me!” 

 

 

    Chuckling, Mark shook his head and let his hand fall to his side. He tilted his head and just stared at Jinyoung, who started squirming under the intense gaze. After a few seconds or so, Mark made a move and pulled Jinyoung’s close by the younger’s waist. Jinyoung yelped in surprise and struggled in Mark’s hold. “This is Seoul, sweetheart. You don’t make the rules here.” 

 

 

    “Mark! Let me go! Th-this is nonconsensual!” Jinyoung started pushing against Mark’s chest. Curses spewing out of his mouth. But his face burned redder and redder by the second. And his heart increased its speed each time he felt Mark’s breath fanning over the meet of his neck and jaw. Jinyoung felt like dying. Should he die? Can he die? 

 

 

    “Calm down, jeez, I was just trying to…” Mark leaned in. 

 

 

    “What…” Jinyoung closed his eyes out of instincts. The wild beating of his heart echoed loudly in his ears. What was he expecting? 

 

 

    He was expecting something…

 

 

    But nothing happened. 

 

 

    “You’re too cute,” Mark laughed, grabbing the stack of folders behind Jinyoung. He released his hold and smirked a little. “Were you expecting something, Park-ssi?” 

 

 

    “N-no! No, I wasn’t!” 

 

 

    “Sure you weren’t.” 

 

 

    “I swear! I wasn’t-"

 

 

    “Why did you closed your eyes? I was just getting these behind you.” 

 

 

    “Be-because there was dust flying around!” 

 

 

    Quirking his eyebrow, Mark fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Whatever.” Waving at a blushing Jinyoung with the folders in his hand, Mark didn’t miss the chance to throw another teasing smirk at an already flustered agent. Satisfied with the reaction he got, Mark casually walked out of the room with a winning smile. This was way too easy. But then again, it’s not like Mark doesn’t know how Jinyoung felt towards him. 

 

    

    It’s just Jinyoung that’s the problem. 

 

 

    Jinyoung needed to realize it himself and say it himself. 

 

 

    It’ll take time, but it won’t be long now. 

 

 

 

 

 

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+

 

 

 

 

 

    “Youngjae-ah!” 

 

 

    The trainee doctor pulled the phone away from his ear, cringing at how loud his name was called. “What the Hell?” 

 

 

    “Youngjae! Youngjae! Come over for dinner!” 

 

 

    “Jinyoung, stop shouting. My God.” 

 

 

    “Please, please, please, come over for dinner!” 

 

 

    “Dinner? What’s the occasion?” Youngjae asked, balancing his phone between his ear and shoulder as he signed some papers. 

 

 

    There was a sigh followed by a quiet curse. “Just… Just come over! You HAVE to!” 

 

 

    The line went dead before Youngjae could ask another question to cure his curiosity. Jinyoung rarely invited anyone over to his place. Not even Youngjae. Well, Youngjae didn’t really mind, since he knew what kind of person his best friend was. Jinyoung loved his privacy and peacefulness. Maybe Jinyoung loved the loneliness a little too much. Though, not many people noticed that. Youngjae wouldn’t say he did, but he picked it up over time. His best friend was a man who adores his independency. Sometimes, it’s not really a good trait. Because then Jinyoung would hold all the weights on his shoulders, he grew to hate burdening others. 

 

 

    Youngjae dropped his phone on his desk and pursed his lips. That wasn’t even an invitation. It was more of an emergency call. Curious, Youngjae shrugged off the uneasy feeling. He’ll go. Youngjae really needed something else delicious at the moment. Picking up his phone, he dialed for his girlfriend, Suzy, to inform her about the dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

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    Of course. 

 

 

    Mark should have expected Jinyoung to pull this kind of ridiculous stunt. 

 

 

    “Hi,” the young man in front of Mark screamed sophisticated with a splash of sassy by the way that small greeting went. Without shame, the young man did a full scan on Mark, head to toe, and looked back up to Mark’s eyes with a smile as bright as the Sun itself. “You are very hot.” 

 

 

    “Youngjae!” Jinyoung nudged the young man and groaned, “what are you saying…” 

 

 

    “As a doctor, I just want to say that your body is fine as fu-"

 

    

    “Youngjae!” 

 

 

    Mark wanted to laugh at the expression on Jinyoung’s face. Clearly, Jinyoung didn’t expect for the meeting to be like this. Mark gets it. This is Youngjae, Jinyoung’s best friend. And the only reason the best friend would be here is to be the . But it seemed that the plan backfired. Youngjae’s already impressed with Mark’s good looks. A win for Mark. Jinyoung can keep trying. 

 

 

    “Thank you, Youngjae-ssi,” Mark smiled politely. He set down the finished dishes on top of the table. Turning to the maids, Mark gave a little curt bow, “I can handle things from here. Thank you.” 

 

 

    “Oh, but Mark-ssi, you sure? Aren’t you making the soup right now?”

 

 

    “Also, do you want help with the stir-fry?” 

 

 

    “You made a lot, Mark-ssi… You’re so talented!” 

 

 

    The maids took turn praising and praising Mark, who just stood there with a charming smile on his face. He humbly accepted their compliments. Youngjae smirked, “so this is the infamous Mark Tuan? The Mark Tuan that my hyung here won’t shut up about?” 

 

 

    “Jinyoung talks about me?” 

 

 

    “Mostly complaints, but it’s kind of cute.”

 

 

    “Wow. I didn’t know that.” 

 

 

    “Now you do.” 

 

 

    The two shared a knowing look at each other. Smiles plastered on their faces. There’s already a connection between them. Jinyoung felt weird, not liking the friendliness that’s dancing around in front of him. For some reason, his blood boiled at the sight of Youngjae continuously smiling at Mark. Like what’s so funny? Shouldn’t Mark be getting back to the kitchen? 

 

 

    Unable to stand it any longer, Jinyoung grabbed Youngjae’s hand and dragged the younger up to his room. When he pushed his best friend inside, Jinyoung quickly shut the door behind him. “What are you doing?”  

 

 

    “What do you mean? I was trying to make friends-"

 

 

    “Bull! I don’t smile like that with my friends.” 

 

 

    “That’s because you don’t have any. Well, except for me, but besides me, you don’t have any friends.” 

 

 

    Jinyoung scoffed, “you’re such a .” 

 

 

    “How?” 

 

 

    “You have a girlfriend! And you don’t swing that way!” 

 

 

    For a second, Youngjae just stared hard at his best friend, trying to figure what the actual went on in Jinyoung’s oblivious mind. “You’re jealous.” 

 

 

    “What? No, I’m not-"

 

 

    “Yes, you are! Oh, my God! You’re jealous? Because of me?” 

 

 

    “I’m not!”

 

 

    “Oh, honey, you’re playing yourself,” Youngjae laughed, finding this entire situation far too amusing. “What’s the point of me being here? Why didn’t you just have dinner with him? He’s cooking for you. Damn, find you a man who could cook for you, Jinyoung-ah.”

 

 

    Jinyoung gave Youngjae a look of disgust. “First of all, I’m not jealous. Second of all, we’re not like that. Third of all, I don’t li- I don’t li-" 

 

 

    “You don’t…” The trainee doctor encouraged his agent best friend to say those magical words. “You don’t what, Jinyoung?” 

 

 

    “I… I…” And Jinyoung’s cheeks flamed up. 

 

 

    “Can’t say it, right? Because you actually don’t feel like that. I know you, hyung-ah. You don’t express your feelings much, but when you do, it’s a whole new world. And it’s cute as !” 

 

 

    “S-shut up! I’m trying to think.” 

 

 

    “Just be honest with yourself,” Youngjae shrugged and exited the room. He looked over his shoulder to see his best friend following close behind. “You know, at first I was worry this Mark Tuan would be a waste of your time. But now that I see him and acknowledge the efforts he puts in to woo you, I’m just going to tell you that he’s a keeper. If you lose him now, there’s a chance you’d probably never going to get him back.”

 

 

    They made their way to the dining room. The table had been set with the plates, utensils, and various dishes of amazing foods. Mark had already took a seat, waiting for the owner of the mansion to come down. Youngjae seated across from Mark, while Jinyoung took the seat at the head of the table. Turning his head to Jinyoung, Mark flashed a happy smile, earning himself flustered cheeks and sparkling eyes. 

 

 

    Youngjae cleared his throat awkwardly, “I’m proud of you. Still couldn’t believe you’ve found yourself such a great man.” 

 

 

    “That’s not it! We’re not-"

 

 

    “Youngjae-ssi, you’ve been complimenting me a lot since your arrival. Perhaps, you need something from me?” Mark sent a wink towards Youngjae. 

 

 

    Jinyoung rolled his eyes, “can we eat now? You two are disgusting.” 

 

 

    Ignoring Jinyoung, Youngjae returned that wink with one of his own, “not really. I’m just amazed at how beautiful you are. I mean my best friend’s visuals are stunning, but I’ve been looking at it for the past years. Honestly, I’m kind of sick of his face. So seeing a new face who could pull off visuals and personality? I approve this marriage!” 

 

    

    “YOUNGJAE!”

 

 

    “What? I like him! He’s so nice and talented.”

 

 

    “Awe~ Youngjae-ssi, I like you, too~” 

 

 

    “Drop the ‘ssi’. Just my name is fine!” 

 

 

    “YOUNGJAE!” 

 

 

    “Well, if you don’t mind it-"

 

 

    “Of course not!” 

 

 

    “CHOI YOUNGJAE!” 

 

 

    Matching the smirk on Mark’s face, Youngjae thought there was no one else more perfect for Jinyoung than Mark. They fit each other so well. Mark was capable to tame the Beast. Youngjae was extremely impressed at how Mark got the Almighty Park Jinyoung, Crown Prince of Hell, Lucifer’s Son, wrapped around his finger like this. Jinyoung doesn’t see this yet, but no one could handle him the way Mark easily can. And that’s ing awesome. “Hey, can I call you ‘hyung’?”

 

 

    Jinyoung’s jaw dropped open. What did…. Oh, no, no, no, no… 

 

 

    “Sure, why not?” Mark didn’t question Youngjae’s sudden act of familiarity. From the looks in the younger’s eyes, Mark was sure he had completely won Youngjae over. He just felt kind of bad for Jinyoung, who probably thought about using Youngjae to reject him. Must that instead of being extra hard and demanding, Youngjae became one of Mark’s victims. Who knew Jaebum was right all along. Mark’s a natural seducer. Everyone loves him. 

 

 

    Grinning, Youngjae reached over to grab the plate of fried fish, “thank you for dinner, Mark-hyung.” 

 

 

    “No problem, Youngjae-ah. Eat lots.” 

 

 

    Jinyoung looked back and forth between his best friend and Mark. He scoffed, feeling threatened all of a sudden. Maybe it was the wrong idea to have Youngjae over. Maybe he shouldn’t have invited Youngjae. Maybe he shouldn’t have let them meet. Why didn’t he think before he acted? Why didn’t he mapped out all the possibilities of this first meeting? Why didn’t he-

 

 

    . What if Mark falls for Youngjae? 

 

 

    Just the thought of it made Jinyoung wants to start ripping people’s throats out with his bare hands. 

 

 

    He can’t. 

 

 

    He loves me!

 

 

    He said so… 

 

 

    That’s right. 

 

 

    Mark loves me.

 

 

    And only me! 

 

 

    He can only loves me!