Mark fled. There is no other way to describe it. He made a beeline for his room and shut the door as soon as he got inside. He just needed to get away from Jinyoung and his questions. Not giving a about how stupid he must have looked. Slightly panting, he laid down on his bed even though he knew sleep wasn’t going to come easy.

He wondered if Jinyoung was going to confront him on his odd behavior the next morning but then again, nothing about this situation was normal and Jinyoung chose to get involved in this not-so normal situation.

He went to sleep empty stomach that day, with the same dreams that end up as nightmares.

This went on for about a week; Jinyoung avoiding topics that would make Mark flee and Mark appreciating Jinyoung’s thoughtfulness. Mark knew he was testing Jinyoung’s patience sometimes but the younger seemed all the more determined to stick around.

It was in the afternoon one day when he was home alone that there was a knock on the door. Jinyoung usually returned at night or sometimes even morning, so he stood there confused.

When the knock resounded again, he made his way to the door and opened it a bit reluctantly to have his jaw drop at the next second.

‘Jackson…’

Instead of replying, Jackson just flung himself on Mark, embracing him so tightly Mark had to take a step back from the impact.

‘Jackson……can’t……breathe’

Jackson quickly let go and proceeded to hold his hands instead. Mark’s expression softened when he noticed tears in the giant puppy’s eyes and pulled him inside of the apartment with a smile.

Jackson despite of being the more tough looking member in their group, has always been the most sensitive and emotional one so it wasn’t surprising to Mark that now he was standing in front of him sniffing loudly and wiping his face with his sleeves continuously.

Mark was visibly composed but it broke his heart to see him like this and so he pulled him into a gentle comforting hug again and tried to convey everything he was feeling through that. It seemed like Jackson understood because he melted in the embrace while letting out a couple of sobs.

The two remained that way for a while, blanketed in the comforting stillness of the apartment and suddenly Mark didn’t feel so all alone anymore, the cold ambience of Mark’s apartment gave way to warmth and quiet.
After Jackson’s sobs subsided, Mark pulled away and dragged him to the couch.

‘Sit, I’ll get us something to eat’ Mark said with a smile and was about to make his way to kitchen but Jackson tenderly grabbed his wrist while shaking his head.

‘I’m not hungry, please just sit’ his voice was softer and his eyes lacked their usual shine. Mark bit his lip in doubt but nodded anyway, taking a seat beside him, and wrapping an arm around Jackson’s shoulder with the same smile.

Jackson didn’t return the smile but that was okay. It’s still a much better reaction than him using all those muscles and punching the living daylights out of Mark; a possibility even though highly unlikely, he did envision.

‘Hey’ Mark said gently after a stretched out silence. He didn’t mind the quiet but Jackson being quiet meant that he was bottling up everything inside and Mark had witnessed the disastrous results of that many times. He needed to talk, regardless of whether or not Mark was ready to hear what he had to say.

‘I owe you an apology’ he continued ‘actually I owe you all an apology but I wasn’t ready to face you. I’m sorry for leaving without even saying goodbye. I wanted to, I really did but I’m a coward. A total wimp’

Jackson shook his head ‘We all made mistakes Mark. We tuned you out without meaning to and you left without telling us. I just wish you would have talked to us before….’

Mark swallowed and looked at Jackson ‘I’m sorry’ what else could he say?

‘Me too’ Jackson reciprocated the eye contact and gave a sad smile. Mark decided he despised himself for making Jackson look like that. ‘I wish I was a better friend’

Mark shook his head ‘You’re one of my best friends. You’re more than I can ask for’ he replied with a smile. He was the one who was not enough.

‘How did you find me?’ He changed the topic, desperate to escape the chances of Jackson springing up questions he couldn’t answer.

‘I nagged Jinyoung constantly but he didn’t give in so I followed him yesterday a little. It was not so hard to put together when I spotted the building, figured you were staying in Joey’s room. ’

‘Wow what is it with you guys? first Jinyoung and now you. Stalkers.’ he muttered, feigning annoyance ‘and it WAS Joey’s room. It’s not anymore’

‘Well technically I was stalking Jinyoung, not you’

‘Doesn’t matter. You’re still a creep’

Jackson chuckled slightly in reply, but his face grew somber again.

‘Have you thought about what you are going to do now that you are not…you’re not with us’

Mark exhaled loudly and sank onto the couch. ‘I thought about a couple of things but I don’t know anything for sure. I’m not really trained for much’ he said, letting out a disappointed sigh, earning a frown from Jackson

‘Well you are trained and good in many things, things people would kill to be good at, but then you decided to leave those things behind’ Jackson said, emphasizing the word ‘things’ every time.

Mark grimaced at his straightforwardness. He knew Jackson wouldn’t let this go, he could tell he was holding back from letting it all out, probably because he was told to by all the members.

‘Actually I was thinking about opening a café’ He went on, ignoring Jackson’s raised eyebrows. ‘I mean its business, I have enough capital to finance it and it could work if done right. Plus, who doesn’t like a cup of coffee…..or tea?’

Jackson listened in silence with the same gloomy expression but the next words out of his mouth surprised Mark.

‘That’s…..that’s actually not a bad idea’

Mark’s head snapped up

‘R-Really?’

‘Yeah, try it. It’s a stable business and you always had a knack for trading and numbers. I’m sure it will work out.’ He paused and then added ‘and if you need any help, you know you can always come to us right?’ The sincerity lacing his words made Mark smile as he nodded

‘Thank you; I don’t know what I did to deserve you guys’ he meant it. Despite his closed off personality, they always cared. None of this was their fault.

Jackson smiled in return and even though it didn’t reach his eyes, Mark was satisfied. He knew they needed more time with this abrupt change and so did he.

They talked for more than an hour and Jackson’s brightness would sometimes slip in making Mark smile. He found out that they had practice but he made an excuse to come visit him, wanting to talk to Mark