True to her words, Jinyoung didn’t see Yena that night, nor did he see her much afterward. Everytime he did see her, they would share a short, unsubstantial conversation that made him feel even more distant from her. Yena was starting to feel more like a business partner than a lifelong friend, and it made Jinyoung’s heart ache.

He couldn’t help but feel guilty. He had been so focused on Mark that he’d been neglecting Yena. Work had gotten hectic lately, and Jinyoung had been spending more of his free time with Mark, finding apartments and just hanging out, getting to know each other. He couldn’t help it: Mark was interesting to be around. He was much more in touch with reality than most chaebols, and was always eager to do things most chaebols didn’t: eating greasy food at street markets, hanging out at dive bars, and playing every street game they could find.

Jinyoung couldn’t help but be swept up in Mark’s spontaneity. He felt like a teenager again, doing everything that had been forbidden from him, simply because he could. It helped that he was an adult who wasn’t entirely under the thumb of his parents and under the scrutiny of his peers, but that was beside the point.

The point was that Mark made him feel young. But Mark also knew when to be an adult.

“It is your fault that Yena’s so distant with you,” he pointed out, eyes focused on his approaching food. They were having lunch at some five-star restaurant to keep up some pretense, but it was already turning out to be a miserable experience. Everything here was scripted to perfection, and Jinyoung had had enough of this stiff perfection already. “She’s been helping you deal with the whole gay drama, and then you make her worry about your safety and leave her out of the loop.”

Distracted, Jinyoung tried to focus on replying to Mark. “I know that, but I just... wanted to prove that I could be independent. But in the end I messed up and now I don’t know how to fix it.”

“Well, for starters, avoiding her while you try to figure out the right answer isn’t really helping,” Mark said once the waitress walked away.

“I know, hyung” he sighed. “I just don’t know what to do first.”

The elder smiled softly, leaning back. “That’s something most chaebols don’t learn: how to fix their own mistakes. The next time you see Yena, say whatever comes to mind. You can figure it out from there.”

He was sitting nervously at the dining table when Yena came home that night. She had started to come home later and later, and was dealing with more and more work emergencies. He didn’t know if she was trying to avoid him or if there actually more problems at work, but he didn’t feel comfortable enough to question it.

It was a scary and saddening thought, being so distant from someone he was very close to.

“Jinyoung-oppa?” Yena called tentatively, bringing him out of his head. “Is everything alright?”

“Y-yeah,” he stammered. “Can... can I talk to you?”

Something behind her eyes shifted, like blinds being lowered to block out the outside world. It hurt. “Of course.” She elegantly lowered herself into a seat across from him, and suddenly the table felt too large, too restrictive, too formal for Jinyoung.

He swallowed thickly. He almost wanted to move them both to the living room or the kitchen, somewhere more casual and comfortable, but if he did that, he’d chicken out. It was now or never. “I’m sorry, Yena-ya.”

She blinked, taken back. “What do you mean by that? Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I’ve been taking advantage of you.” Jinyoung bit his lip nervously. “I’ve overstayed my welcome, I’ve been telling you all my problems and expecting you to fix them for me, and I haven’t even shown the slightest bit of gratitude in return.”

“Oppa...”

“No, you can’t deny that I’ve been using you,” he interrupted. “You went through all the trouble of looking for apartments for me, and I just made you worry for hours while I was talking with Mark.”

She sighed. “Okay, so maybe I was a little hurt that you never told me about meeting up with Mark, and that I had to find out from Kunpimook, of all people,” she admitted, “but you’ve been happier lately. I can’t really fault you for that.”

“You should,” Jinyoung insisted. “You need to hold me accountable whenever I’m being a bad friend, even if I’m happy. What if I made a mistake, but you didn’t tell me because I looked happier? What if I’m so happy that I’m blinded to reality? If you were in my position, I would’ve told yo.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “I understand. I won’t do it again.”

Belatedly, Jinyoung realized his error, and he hurried to add, “Don’t apologize! I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty, I just... I just don’t want you to let me off easy.”

A bemused grin spread on her face. “You want me to be mad at you?” She asked.

“If you’re mad at me, yes,” Jinyoung nodded emphatically.

“Alright,” Yena said, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. “Jinyoung-oppa, I’m mad at you.”

“Why?” Jinyoung prompted.

“Because you’re leaving me out. I want to meet Mark, but you never bring him over, and I want to make sure he’s treating you right.”

He blinked. That hadn’t been what he’d expected her to say. “Wha-what?”

“You’ve practically spent the last two weeks with him, I wanna meet him,” she repeated childishly. “I want to see if he’s good enough to steal my best friend from me for two weeks. I’ve barely seen you, and you live with me!”

Jinyoung let out a breathy laugh. “I... I don’t know what to say.”

“How about an ‘Yena-ya, I’m sorry?’” Yena pouted. “I deserve that, at least.”

“Yena-ya, I’m sorry,” Jinyoung apologized dutifully. “I didn’t mean to leave you out.”

She grinned. “Good. And...?”

“I promise I’ll introduce you to Mark,” he finished. “As soon as he can.”

Nodding, Yena walked around the table to wrap Jinyoung in a hug. “Good. Don’t do it again.”

“She