Lunch has gotten less awkward lately.

Mark and Jinyoung don’t sit at different tables anymore, for one. Though their seats are split in half where Jackson sits between Mark and Bambam, while both Jaebum and Youngjae sit between Jinyoung and Yugyeom. Of course, Jinyoung and Mark are right next to each other as well Yugyeom and Bambam. It all kind of works out. Kind of.

Jinyoung remembers the day after Mark’s confession where Jinyoung had asked Youngjae and Jaebum to come sit with everyone, but Jaebum had shook his head so aggressively, Jinyoung wondered how it didn’t hurt. Though he was kind of sad that they didn’t eat lunch with the rest, he was at least glad that Yugyeom was there to face the whole situation with him.

Obviously the day after that, Jinyoung asked them again. That time though, Youngjae pulled Jaebum by the ear and said “Yeah, of course we’re sitting with you.” Bless Youngjae for being able to control Jaebum. Suffice it to say that that first day of all seven of them had been a bit of a warzone. Jaebum refused to make eye contact with the other three, offering a mere grunt for his responses. Youngjae apologized for Jaebum’s behavior, describing it as akin to that of a grumpy cat. Which, yeah. Jackson had made some snide comments towards Jinyoung (and later Jaebum), but Jinyoung gave back as good as he got. It seemed that Jackson wasn’t used to Jinyoung’s quick wit though, because their little mini matches always ended with Jinyoung getting the last word. (It really ended with Mark saying ‘Open, darling!’ and then stuffing food into Jinyoung’s mouth as well as stepping on Jackson’s foot so they’d both shut up, but whatever).

Today though, Mark had pulled Jinyoung aside saying he “talked” to Jackson about whatever issues he has with Jinyoung and his friends, whatever that means. Jinyoung promises to play nice as long as he doesn’t hear anything offensive coming out of Jackson Wang. And sure enough, Jackson is quiet and barely talks to them. Jinyoung is fine with that, honestly. Better than having to expend energy rolling his eyes.

Mark for his part is too busy having fun feeding Jinyoung. Jinyoung doesn’t have to use his hands to eat now. He thinks he doesn’t quite mind having a slave.

They’re almost used to holding hands nowadays too. But sometimes, Jinyoung is just the slightest bit hesitant to reach for Mark’s because he doesn’t know where the older boy’s hands have been. Which is why he carries a hand sanitizer that latches onto his backpack zipper now. He forces Mark to use it before they entwine their fingers.

Mark had once asked why he had to do it.

Jinyoung’s answer was “Because I said so.”

Mark only shrugged in reply.

When the day ends, Mark and Jinyoung make their way towards the quad to meet up with Suzy, hands holding the other’s. The girl is already there waiting under the sun without breaking a sweat. Jinyoung is jealous at her flawless beauty. He tries to pull away from Mark, but Mark keeps his grip tight.

“My favorite couple!” Suzy greets them, giving both the boys a quick hug before going to Mark’s other side and linking their arms. “So I already have an idea for a layout. I was thinking the color scheme could be pink and gray. I mean, we can definitely change it, but pink and gray really goes together. Don’t you think?”

“I’m not really good at these kinds of things,” Mark confesses slowly. “What do you think, princess?”

Jinyoung tries to picture the two colors in his head. He’s seen the combination before, and it’s pleasant to look at.

“I suppose so.”

“Then I guess we’ll do gray and pink!” Mark agrees.

They meet up with Jackson by his car because he always drives Mark for some reason, and today is no different.

Jinyoung still doesn’t feel comfortable with Jackson, so when it’s time to pick a seat, he immediately goes to the back. Mark follows him, and as soon as he gets in, Jackson starts protesting about how Mark never sits in the back, bro, what are you doing?

Mark shrugs.

“I can’t leave my boyfriend,” is Mark’s simple answer even though Jackson knows the whole ordeal. Mark says it so nonchalantly, not like some big secret, but just is.

“What about your best friend?” Jackson asks, hand dramatically clutching his own heart.

“What does Bambam have to do with anything?” Mark answers, straight-faced. Jinyoung can’t help but laugh. Jackson pouts, but Suzy immediately cheers him up by offering to sit in front.

After that, Jackson turns into a bumbling mess, and Jinyoung is intrigued at how many layers there seems to be to the man. Suzy giggles and starts rambling about how her girlfriends refuse to sit at the front with her because she’s such a bad driver, so she knows the feeling.

Mark on the other hand is sitting right up Jinyoung, and Jinyoung can feel the warm press of Mark’s arms and thighs against his. When he turns to look at Mark, the older boy just gives him a close-lipped smile. Jinyoung keeps his lips shut tight and stares directly forward.

The drive to Mark’s house shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes, but Jinyoung feels like he’s been in that damned car for 5 hours. Mark is definitely smirking now, but Jinyoung refuses to even look in his direction. And when they finally pass the gate and gets to Mark’s house, Jinyoung is the first out the door.

Jinyoung is shocked when he looks at Mark’s home. It’s big. Jinyoung likes big things, so he already feels an affinity for it. Jackson says his goodbyes, and then Mark is leading both of them to the front door. If Jinyoung thought the house was huge from the outside, it looks even larger inside. The high ceiling gives it a spacious feeling, the elegant furniture spread out to make the living room appear wider. The pearl-colored walls are decorated with gold-rimmed frames of Mark and his family. Mark’s house has a fireplace surrounded by bricks, currently put out, but right on top of it is brick shelf filled with single framed photographs. He doesn’t have time to wander as Mark starts shouting to the empty space.

“Megan, I’m home!”

A middle-aged woman comes out from the kitchen, geared with an apron and a spatula. Jinyoung assumes this is Megan, though Jinyoung is confused what her relationship is with Mark. She smiles warmly at the boy and gives him a hug. As she does so, Mark gives her a kiss on the cheek.

“Welcome back, dear.” She says. Upon making eye contact with Mark’s visitors, she turns to the boy and comments. “You have visitors!”

Mark scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah. This is Suzy, she’s going to be my running mate for Prom.”

Suzy smiles brightly and approaches Megan with a soft hug. “Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you as well,” Megan chirps back. “I’m the Tuan family helper.”

“She’s been with us for so long that she’s basically family now,” Mark comments from the side.

“Oh, dear. You’re such a sweetheart.” Megan’s eyes are shining.

“What a beautiful young lady,” Megan says, turning to Mark. “I’m sure you two would look wonderfully together.”

Both Mark and Suzy look slightly embarrassed, and Jinyoung feels a bit awkward just standing there. Thankfully, Megan turns to him with a smile.

“And you are?”

“My name is Jinyoung, Ma’am.” Jinyoung makes sure to give his dimpliest smile and bows. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh my,” Megan begins with a hand on her heart. She faces Mark again. “He’s as gorgeous as you said he was.”

Jinyoung is shocked at the fact that Mark has talked about him to his family. More so, he’s almost surprised Mark finds him gorgeous. Heh. Jinyoung looks at Mark, and the older boy is looking down at the floor with the shyest expression Jinyoung has ever seen him wear. He thinks there’s a dusting of pink on Mark’s cheeks and ears. Oh man, Jinyoung will never let Mark live this down.

“Babe, you think I’m gorgeous?” Jinyoung asks, eyes with a glint of mischief. He’s about to add more when Mark interrupts him.

“Alright, enough with introductions. My room is right this way,” Mark points, and begins going up the stairs with Suzy not far behind. Jinyoung and Megan make eye contact and start snickering. He then follows the other two, but not before Megan gives him the most motherly hug a stranger could give.

“Pleasure to finally meet you.” Jinyoung hears the genuine tone in it.

The stairs are wooden and finished with a shine that looks like it’s cleaned every other day. When he reaches the top, he sees Mark and Suzy in the middle of the hallway waiting for him. The blush in Mark’s cheeks isn’t visible anymore.

As soon as they enter it, Jinyoung is hit with the smell of sandalwood mixed with tangerine and a hint of sage. He’s smelled this scent before, usually fills his nose when he gives Mark a hug.

They busy themselves on their laptops, Mark and Suzy designing their poster as Jinyoung does his. The pair settle on pink and gray as previously communicated. Jinyoung utilizes sky blue and pastel pink as the dominant colors on his poster with a hint vivid yellow as to represent the color scheme of Cinderella.

The other two are giggling off to the side, and occasionally, Jinyoung could feel them stare at him. However, he does steal glances every few moments, simply peeking at what they’re doing. Not that Jinyoung is watching for specific things, no. It’s more to help Mark, really. Make sure that he’s not giving her certain signals or lead her on, or whatever, because Jinyoung knows how y of a situation that is.

So yeah, he’s content with just looking once every few minutes, all the while working on his poster. He thinks he does well and asks Mark how it looks.

Mark saunters over and gives his work a glance.

“This looks nice, princess.” It sounds authentic enough, so Jinyoung takes Mark’s words for it. “Do you want to go print it out? We have a colored printer.”

Jinyoung looks at Suzy who seems to be busy with their poster before turning to Mark.

“Sure.”

“Cool.” Mark turns around. “We’ll be back in a few, Suzy.”

She keeps her eyes glued to the screen and gives a waving motion of her hand.

Mark then grabs Jinyoung’s wrist and leads him out to the hallway. Jinyoung feels the heat emanating from where Mark is touching him. He bites his lip to not say anything.

When they reach the place, Jinyoung guesses it’s an office room, probably a place for Mark’s mom or dad to do work at home.

Mark says just that and walks over to the printer and plugs it into Jinyoung’s laptop. And then there’s no noise in the room other than the constant whirring of the printer as it does its job. So naturally, Jinyoung brings back a new favorite topic of his.

“So you think I’m gorgeous?” Jinyoung smirks at Mark. The older boy chokes but fakes a cough instead. Jinyoung noticed though.

“I don’t know where she got the word gorgeous from,” Mark says as he looks at anywhere but Jinyoung. “I just told her that I found a pretty boy, and that I asked him to be my boyfriend, and that he said yes.”

“Adorable.” Jinyoung snickers as he saunters over to Mark and pinches his cheek. Mark rubs at where Jinyoung just pulled his skin and fakes pouting.

“Excuse you, I’m not adorable.” And Jinyoung hears the usual swag in Mark’s voice.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Jinyoung puts his hands up.

“I’m quite hot if I do say so myself,” Mark counters as gets up to Jinyoung’s personal space.

“You are so full of yourself,” Jinyoung rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

“You can be full of me too, if you just ask.” Mark’s honey-colored eyes look nearly black up this close. Jinyoung glances at Mark’s lips, and Mark must have noticed because he his lips, and Jinyoung suddenly finds it slightly harder to breath. The atmosphere in room is charged with something that Jinyoung can’t even begin to explain.

Someone shrieks at the door, and both boys quickly turn their heads to the source of the noise. Suzy has her eyes covered with one hand while her other hand holds Mark’s laptop.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Suzy admits, flushed. “I finished the poster is all and wanted to print. I’m sorry!”

The whirring from the printer stops, indicating that all of the posters have finished.

“It’s okay, Suzy.” Mark is the first to break the silence, and Jinyoung takes note of the slight waver in his voice. “You didn’t interrupt anything.”

Suzy brings Mark’s laptop over. The design looks fantastic, if Jinyoung has to admit. He’s no artist though. And then Suzy bids goodbye as she’s finished what she came here to do.

“Do you want me to drive you home?” Mark asks.

“Oh no, it’s fine. My friend is picking me up, actually. We have some places to get to.”

“Then let me at least accompany you to the gate.” Jinyoung never pegged Mark to be a real gentleman.

So he’s quite speechless when the both of them leave. It’s alright though. It lets Jinyoung catch his breath. He stays right up against the desk, breathing heavily now because the air feels too thin somehow. Closing his eyes, he lets himself relax and think of nonsense, lets the silence of it take over him.

When he feels stable enough, he opens his eyes and lets his eyes wander the room. There’s a small bookshelf by the side, rows and rows of business-heavy books that Jinyoung finds leaves a sour taste in his mouth.

He juts his finger out and slides it on the spines of each hard-covered books, feeling the stiffness of it against the pad of his pointy finger. After that, Jinyoung walks around the office, taking in the professionalism vibe of it, the spinning chair right on the wooden desk reminding him of an office fit for a politician.

He’s feeling the smoothness of the table when Mark comes back, out of breath yet looking perfect as usual. The ceasing of the whirring of the printer suggests that Mark and Suzy’s Prom posters have just finished printing. Jinyoung finds himself watching Mark from the door.

It’s takes a few electric moments before Mark goes downstairs and announces that it’s time for dinner.

“You are staying for dinner, right?”

Jinyoung thinks about it. While, yes, it might be a good thing to eat dinner at the Tuan dining room and possibly meet his family, he also knows that he has a lot of homework to finish before tomorrow.

“I don’t know, Mark.” Jinyoung tries steadily. “I honestly have a lot of work to finish at home.”

 Mark simply looks at Jinyoung, methodical and calculating. Jinyoung feels bare from being at the receiving end of it.

“If you’re sure.” Mark says it flatly. If Jinyoung recognizes the disappointed tone, he doesn’t comment on it.

They make their way downstairs, not quite awkwardly, but not quite comfortably either. When they’re by the door, Mark asks him one more time.

“Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to eat dinner?” Mark looks at him unsurely. Jinyoung returns the expression.

“Next time, I will.” He’s surprised by the truth behind it. Mark seems to be too.

“Alright, I’ll count you to that.”

Jinyoung leaves, but not without the feeling of Mark watching him as he walks away.

***

Jinyoung is by his locker getting his Advanced Chemistry textbook when it happens.

He’s barely gotten his book out when Jongin comes by.

“Heard you’re going out with Tuan.” The tone of it already makes Jinyoung’s skin crawl.

“That has nothing to do with you,” Jinyoung counters. He takes his book and slams his locker. He’s about to walk away when Jongin grabs him by the elbow so harshly that he thinks there’ll be a bruise there tomorrow.

“What do you want?”

“I want a lot of things, Park Jinyoung.” Jongin whispers close to his ears. His voice is cold and low, and Jinyoung shivers just from hearing it. “But most of all, I want you to convince your boyfriend to drop out of the race.”

Jinyoung faces Jongin this time. There are a couple of other guys with him, certain that they’re part of the football team.

“And why would I do that?”

“Trust me when I say that you’ll regret it if you don’t,” Jongin warns him. Jinyoung is not one to feel fear though, knows that bullies like Jongin and Sehun feed off of their prey’s uncertainty. Therefore, Jinyoung will stand his ground and keep his head held high.

“I won’t,” Jinyoung fights back. He doesn’t see it coming, only feels it as soon as it touches his face. Jongin’s palm slaps quite hard against Jinyoung’s cheek. He thinks he hears it echo in the hallway, but he’s not quite sure because the ringing in his ear is quite deafening. He’s never had someone slap him before, but the burn of his cheeks and the loudness in his eardrums is enough to have him clutching his face.

Jongin and his small posse walk away, leaving Jinyoung with the sound of their disgusting laughter. Jinyoung chances a look around the hallway. At the end of it, he sees Jackson resolutely avoiding his gaze. His cheeks still sting, but it stings less than the way his pretend-boyfriend’s best friend didn’t help him. His eyes feel wet from the pain pulsing on his cheeks, and Jinyoung finds it difficult to keep breathing properly. Biting his lips, he makes his way towards Jackson and bumps the older boy’s shoulder with his own.

He’s able to control himself though when he gets to his class, breathing hard before he goes through the door acting as if nothing big just happened.

The day passes by slowly. Funny how time seems to get slower the more you want it to speed up. It takes an eternity for the bell to signal lunch time. Mark grabs his hand and leads him to the lunch line. Jinyoung lets his muscles do the work, lets his subconscious grab the food, pay for it, and follow Mark to their usual table. The older boy notices the difference though, because he puts a hand on Jinyoung’s forehead.

“Are you okay?” Mark sounds so concerned that Jinyoung has to look down.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine. You look red.”

Jinyoung touches his cheeks, and sure enough, it feels warm.

“I’m fine.” He repeats. It seems to work though, because the older boy doesn’t do anything else other than feed him lunch. He doesn’t deny the spoonfuls too. After all, he needs to eat something if he wants to have energy to finish the day. If Mark notices that Jinyoung just doesn’t feel like doing anything today, he doesn’t say anything.

Jinyoung is always one to notice the little things, the big things too. So naturally, he takes note of how Jackson doesn’t show up at the table the whole lunch time. He doesn’t know whether he feels good about it or feels bad. He guesses he can decide later.

When the day ends, the hall is full of chatter. He strains his ears to listen to the rumors, but all he can catch is Jongin’s name and the word ‘vandalized.’ So when he walks towards the parking lot with Yugyeom to catch the bus, he’s only slightly surprised to see the wreck that is Jongin’s car.

His usual sparkly vehicle is covered with spray paint, the intensity of it so loud that Jinyoung has to hold back his chuckle. There are multiple drawings of on Jongin’s car, all in stark red against the white paint of the exterior. His tires are sliced, and Jinyoung feels the weirdest satisfaction at the boy’s misfortune. Jongin is by the hood of it, hands nearly pulling out his precious hair. Sehun is next to him, seething.

When he looks at the other side of the crowd, Jinyoung sees Jackson with the most satisfied expression.

***

From Mark Bio:
Hey princess what are you doing today?

From Jinyoung:
Nothing. Why? Planning to ruin my weekend as usual?

From Mark Bio:
Was just bored is all wanna do something

From Jinyoung:
Well I guess we can shop for our Prom outfits

From Mark Bio:
Prom is literally a month and a half away

From Jinyoung:
I knooow! Which is why we need to get a move on. Last year, I got mine two months before in case I needed to get it adjusted. A month and a half is basically last minute.

From Mark Bio:
If you’re sure I have the perfect place :)

From Jinyoung:
Great. Where should I meet you up?

From Mark Bio:
Just stay put princess I’ll come get you

From Jinyoung:
What?

From Mark Bio:
Get ready in thirty minutes

What the hell?

Jinyoung does as he’s told anyway, getting ready with a plain white long sleeve under a jean jacket. It’s paired with tan chinos. He surveys himself in the mirror, making sure his glasses aren’t askew. He waxes his hair back such that it would show his amazing forehead.

“Well you look nice,” Sooyoung comments from the hallway.

“Yeah, I got the good genes.” Jinyoung replies without taking his eyes off his reflection. “You on the other hand. Tsk.”

He doesn’t really mean any of it. They just have a weird relationship is all, expressed through attitude and snide remarks. Jinyoung would be the first to snap the wrist of whichever boy hurts his little sister. And while Jinyoung is sharp-tongued, Sooyoung (even though she’s generally bubbly) can speak just as harshly. So he is absolutely certain that she has his back just as much as Jinyoung has hers.

“But Mom says I’m prettier,” Sooyoung says confidently. Jinyoung and his mom needs to have a talk. “You going on a date with Mark?”

“No,” It’s not a date. They’re just shopping for their prom attire. “Why do you care? Go bother Seulgi and Wendy or something.”

“Hmm. Well, I hope your date with Mark goes just as badly as your top does with those shoes.”

Jinyoung turns to her looking affronted, but she’s already left. All Jinyoung can hear is the sound of her laughter from down the hall. Seriously, that girl. As painful in the as she can be, Jinyoung is proud that she inherited his sharp sarcasm and quick wit.

The doorbell rings not long after, and Jinyoung hears Sooyoung excitedly shout “I got it!”

Oh no. He sprints towards the door as fast as he can, but Sooyoung is already there whispering greetings to Mark. Mark for his part just watches her with a strained smile and looking like he’s about to barf.

“Ah. Who might this be?” Jinyoung’s mom comes out from behind him.

Sooyoung grins when she turns around and stares at Jinyoung. Jinyoung knows what she’s about to say before she says it, so Jinyoung bolts towards Mark.

“This is Mark. Jinyoung’s boyfriend!”

“BOYFRIEND?!” His mom shrieks. Jinyoung takes Mark by the arm and hauls him outside. Mark looks surprised by the action, and Jinyoung is cursing at the fact that Mark isn’t going fast enough.

“PARK JINYOUNG, YOU COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!”

No way in hell! He’s not about to have his mom lecture him about boyfriends and distractions and the omens that come along with . Jinyoung shivers just from thinking about it. They escape from his mom’s loud shouts of “PARK JINYOUNG” and Sooyoung’s louder cackling. Witch.

As soon as they get into Mark’s car, Jinyoung tells him to “Drive!”

The last thing they see is his mom by the door holding up a wooden spatula.

“What the hell was that?” Mark asks.

“I haven’t told her I have a ‘boyfriend,’” Jinyoung says with air quotes. “She knows I’m gay though, but she gets overprotective when it comes to these types of things.”

Mark nods.

“It’s even worse for Sooyoung. She can’t date until she’s in college.” Jinyoung snorts.

“Are you gonna be okay when you get back home?” Mark questions.

“I don’t know.” It’s the truth. Jinyoung doesn’t. His mom can be quite unpredictable sometimes. “We’ll see, I guess. But if I don’t show up for school tomorrow, it’s because my dead body has been thrown at the river.”

The drive is quiet after that, but more comfortable than it is awkward. All that could be heard is the radio and the occasional honks from behind them because Mark drives like a maniac. Now Jinyoung knows why it’s usually Jackson who drives them to school together.

They approach the richer part of town, the section where the streets are always clean, and the mannequins in the clothing stores are wearing clothes priced more than Jinyoung’s liver.

Luckily, they find street parking, and Jinyoung hops out of the car as quickly as he can. He’s quite fortunate to be alive with the way Mark raced through the streets, almost hitting a car (good thing the boy has good reflexes) and running about 4 or 5 red lights.

Mark argues that they turned red as soon as he got there. What a load of bullcrap.

“Where to?” Jinyoung asks, dusting off his clothes for nonexistent lint.

“This way!” Mark points and starts walking with a bounce to his step like he knows he looks good. Jinyoung wasn’t able to appreciate Mark’s street fashion because of the horrible turn of events at his home. Looking now, Jinyoung almost whistles. Mark is pretty, he can give him that, if he just wasn’t so annoying. Though Mark is shorter than Jinyoung, he gives the appearance of being long limbed. And his legs are accentuated by his black skinnies. He’s wearing a loose satin v-neck. It’s long sleeved and black, and it looks so incredible with Mark’s frame that Jinyoung has to keep his lips closed from commenting on how good Mark looks.

Jinyoung catches up to him such that they stride in unison, and he can feel his arm brushing against Mark’s even though there are currently three layers separating them right now. When they get to the place, Jinyoung looks unsure.

“I don’t know,” he says hesitantly. “Doesn’t it look… a bit pricey?”

“No,” Mark shrugs. And Jinyoung just stays back feeling kind of embarrassed that he probably will not be able to afford most of these.

“Well come on princess,” Mark says as he pulls Jinyoung inside with both hands. “Time’s-a-wastin’!”

They enter a store that sells predominantly men’s formal attire. If Jinyoung can describe the whole place with one word, it would be ‘modern’. The ceiling is painted off white and looks stain-free from what Jinyoung can see. The lights are bright and are reflected against the onyx tiles. The chandeliers have a quadrilateral shape to them, sharp and edgy with arms the color of glossy ink. One wall is adorned with a large minimalist painting of a male’s face, while the rest are lined with closet-like racks that encases expensive looking suits and jackets.

Everything is monochromatic, colors ranging from white to black and all shades in between. There are gray couches pushed to the sides. (Who even needs couches in stores?) On top of that, there are charcoal colored benches spread about the store with symmetry. There’s a sleek black table that displays a variety of ties, bowties, and jewelry under clear glass. At the center of the store sits a random jet black circular desk with nothing but a silver vase.

All in all, the whole place is shiny, symmetrical, and reeks of overpriced items.

“Look around and see what looks good,” Mark says as he skillfully made his way through the racks.

Jinyoung looks at the first suit that catches his eye. Dark red with satin black lapels. The texture of it looks smooth and fancy. When Jinyoung takes a look at the price, he almost chokes on air because it costs twice as much as what Jinyoung can afford at the moment. He checks the other suits as well and sees that they’re all about the same price range.

Well, this isn’t good.

“Hi, there!” A salesperson comes up to him, and Jinyoung takes note of the way she looks him up and down calculatingly. She’s probably taking note of Jinyoung’s college look.

“Hello.” Jinyoung gives her a close-lipped smile.

“Is there anything I can assist you with?” She asks. But before Jinyoung can answer, she beats him to it. “I can show you the clearance section, if you’d like.”

Jinyoung backtracks because how dare she? True, Jinyoung’s broke can only afford the accessories, but she doesn’t have to rub it in. Jinyoung’s face probably costs like a million bucks, thank you very much.

“Actually, no.” Jinyoung says with a sharp finger. He turns to look for the dark red suit he found earlier. It only takes a couple of seconds before Jinyoung takes it out of the rack and hands it to the girl. “I’d like to try this on please.”

She gives him a sweet smile, but her eyes definitely look sour. “Are you sure, sir? This one is a bit on the higher end. Perhaps the ones with-”

“Perhaps not.” Jinyoung shuts her down. Nobody is going to get away with clocking him for his look. “I’d like to try that on please.”

The girl nods curtly. “Yes, sir.”

Jinyoung follows her to the dressing room, unsure why he just did what he did. He can’t afford this ? What the hell?

Jinyoung is led to a stall and the girl leaves quickly. After locking it, Jinyoung begins removing his clothes until he’s only in his long sleeve and underwear. The suit really does look nice. He puts on the trousers first, making sure to tuck in his top. As soon as he shoves his legs in, he can feel the quality of the material against him. When he inserts his arms into the jacket sleeves, he’s immediately blown away by the softness of it. It’s actually pretty comfortable. Surveying himself in the mirror, he can’t help but admit he looks good.

He does a photoshoot in front of the full body mirror because he if he can’t afford it, he can at least have memories of him looking like a full course meal in it. Rifling through them, he clicks the best looking one and sends it to Mark with a caption of “How do I look?”

The reply is instant. All it says is “Come out.”

Jinyoung does as he’s told and walks out of the dressing room and into the main area.

Mark is already waiting for him outside. And if Jinyoung wasn’t sure before about how good he looks, he’s definitely sure now. Mark’s jaw basically drops to the floor, and Jinyoung feels very pleased with himself.

“Wow,” Mark says after a moment, eyes raking Jinyoung up and down and all around. “You look… wow.”

“I know,” Jinyoung shrugs with a smirk. Too bad it’s out of his price range.

“Red is my favorite color,” Mark admits, and Jinyoung remembers this piece of information from their not-date date. “It really suits you.”

“White is mine.” Jinyoung doesn’t know why he repeats it, just that it felt appropriate to announce it out loud.

“Rebecca?” Mark calls out of nowhere, and the salesperson who was helping Jinyoung earlier pops out.

“Yes, Mr. Tuan.”

“Do you have that in white?” Mark asks as he points at Jinyoung.

“Yes, sir.” She scurries away to look for it.

“You two are on a first name basis?” Jinyoung questions, curious. “Did something happen in the five minutes I was trying this on?”

Jinyoung laughs at his own joke.

“My dad always takes me here when I need formalwear.”

“Ah. And she’s worked here for a while?”

Mark nods.

“Here you go, Mr. Tuan.” Rebecca says as she comes back with the same suit in hand but in white.

“Thank you, Rebecca.” Mark bows to her and then steps towards Jinyoung. “Excuse me while I try this on princess.”

Jinyoung bites his lip as Mark walks away to get into the fitting room.

“Are you two together?” Rebecca asks. Jinyoung isn’t sure if they must keep up the façade off campus or not, but he supposes it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“Yeah, we are. Is that a problem?”

“No,” She says warmly. “I’m glad he’s finally found someone. He usually looks down when he goes here with his dad, but he seems different today.”

“Different how?” Jinyoung frowns.

“Livelier.” With that she marches away and greets the next incoming customer.

Jinyoung doesn’t know how to take that, but is thankful that he doesn’t need to ponder much because Mark comes out with the white suit. Jinyoung doesn’t think he’s seen anyone prettier than Mark looks right now. The full attire fits him very well, and Jinyoung has the overwhelming need to swallow before he can speak again.

“I suppose you look better than usual,” Jinyoung comments, but with the way Mark is smirking, Jinyoung has a feeling he knows how breathtaking he looks at the moment.

“We can have a red-white-black color scheme,” Mark says excitedly as he gets closer to Jinyoung. Jinyoung supposes it’s not a bad idea.

“You can wear a red button up with that, while I wear a white one.”

“Ah, kind of like Yin and Yang.” Mark comments.

“Uh, sure, why not.”

But wait, Jinyoung almost forgot. And he doesn’t know why he feels embarrassed about this. It’s Mark for god’s sake.

“Actually, this is a bit more than my budget. Maybe we can look for something more practical?” Jinyoung isn’t usually one who’s ashamed of his upbringing and financial status. He’s not even poor. He’s just not rich, right on the cusp of average house income.

“Nonsense. I’ll pay for what you can’t,” Mark declares. Which, no, Jinyoung isn’t a charity case.

“That’s not necessary.” Jinyoung will just have to find another way to find money. Maybe he can ask his parents for more? They’ll probably ground him for the rest of his life first before he can even speak to them, what with the way he literally ran away earlier. “I don’t need you to pay for me.”

Mark chuckles.

“I’m not paying for you, princess.” He says with his arms crossed. “I’m paying for me. I can’t have my date looking like trash while I steal the hearts of every boy and girl on the dancefloor.”

Jinyoung considers how he’ll get the money and figures that he won’t be able to make the money on time unless he steals. While Jinyoung can be cruel, he’s definitely not heartless enough to steal from unsuspecting strangers.

“Okay,” Jinyoung agrees after a moment. “You can pay for half of it, but only on the condition that you let me pay you back.”

Mark smiles and inches closer to him until their noses are practically touching. Jinyoung has never noticed how clear the brown specks of Mark’s eyes are.

“Deal.”

When the transaction is finished, Mark and Jinyoung spend time at the closest Starbucks. They’re chatting about the upcoming exam in Calculus and Advanced Chemistry, which Mark is apparently dreading. Jinyoung is chillin’ though. He’s been getting near perfect scores on the homework and is certain that he only needs light studying the night before to pass with a 90 or higher. Mark on the other hand…

“Yeah, I’m probably going to end up cramming all night,” he says, and Jinyoung almost feels bad. Almost. “Anyway, I’ll be right back. Just going to use the men’s room.”

“Thanks for the info,” Jinyoung says flatly. “Don’t talk to strangers now.”

“In the bathroom?”

“You never know.” Jinyoung shrugs.

Mark giggles and stands up. It’s high pitched and child-like, and Jinyoung wonders how Mark can have a deep voice yet still giggle like a 12-year-old.

Mark isn’t even gone a full minute when Jinyoung hears his name being called.

“Jinyoungie!”

Jinyoung stills. He knows that velvety voice super well, used to hear them nearly every night in his dreams. Sure enough when he looks up to the direction it came from, he sees Kim Wonpil walking and waving towards him with that damned smile, the one that turns his eyes into cute little slits.

Jinyoung used to have the biggest crush on Wonpil, probably still does if the way his fingertips feel funny is of any indication. He’s in class 4-B, the same one as Jaebum. Whenever people ask him how he knows this tad bit of information, Jinyoung says that Jaebum has mentioned it once or twice before. It sounds a lot less creepy than saying he followed Wonpil to his homeroom that one time. Wonpil helps out at Drama club when he can because he is the sweetest guy, but lately, it feels like Jinyoung hasn’t seen him lately.

“Wonpil!” Jinyoung stands up and smiles when he receives a hug from the other boy. Sweet boys give the sweetest hugs, Jinyoung is certain of this. He might just melt from the warmth of it all.

“It’s been a while,” Wonpil says after they break apart.

“Yes, it has. I haven’t seen you around lately.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m sorry,” Wonpil agrees as he scratches the back of his head. “Actually started this little band a couple of weeks ago, and we’ve been jamming in my garage lately. Trying to find our music, you know?”

As if he couldn’t get any cooler.

“Don’t be sorry, you silly goose,” Jinyoung laugh softly as he slaps Wonpil on the chest. “That’s not something you should be apologizing for.”

Wonpil ducks his heads and chuckles to himself.

“But wow, a band, how exciting!”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s a new thing and everything, but it’s been great so far.”

Jinyoung is about to say something again when a voice beats him to it.

“Hope I’m not interrupting,” Mark says casually. Curse you Mark Tuan for your bad timing. Jinyoung turns to him and gives him a tight smile.

“No, you’re not,” Jinyoung says through slightly gritted teeth. “My friend here was just coming by to say hi.”

Mark steps closer to Jinyoung and slips his arms around the younger’s waist, relaxed and easygoing.

Wonpil waves at him and offers a hand.

“Kim Wonpil.” Mark’s cool expression falters for a half a second, but it was back to its usual aloofness so quickly that Jinyoung wonders if he imagined the whole thing.

“Mark Tuan,” he says, shaking Wonpil’s hand.

“Oh, I know who you are, my friend.” Wonpil pulls him into a friendly side embrace, thus forcing Mark off of Jinyoung. Jinyoung gapes because what the hell, Jinyoung didn’t even get that kind of skinship with Wonpil until a whole month after knowing him. If Jinyoung wasn’t gritting his teeth earlier, he’s surely doing it now. “That was quite a confession you made to our little Jinyoungie here.”

“Yeah,” Mark smirks. “He wouldn’t settle for anything less, right princess?”

“I still haven’t forgiven you for not getting me the five-foot teddy bear,” Jinyoung says with a put-upon pout.

Wonpil laughs, and Mark takes this opportunity to return to Jinyoung and snake his arm around his waist once more.

“Unfortunately, I do have somewhere to be. But it was definitely nice seeing you lovebirds,” Wonpil says before bowing. “See you at school.”

“Later!” Jinyoung says as Mark waves goodbye.

When Wonpil has left Starbucks, Mark turns to Jinyoung. “So that was Wonpil, eh?”

“Yeah. You know him?” They slowly walk towards the door, ready to head home.

“No, just heard you and Jaebum talking about him in the hallway that one time.” So Mark heard that part of the conversation. Jinyoung has a slight feeling of guiltiness building under his skin. He's not quite sure why.

“That was pretty flirty for someone who’s over their crush.” Mark tries.

“I was not flirty,” Jinyoung fixes his glasses. “I was being friendly.”

“Oh, you silly goose,” Mark imitates him with a voice two octaves higher than Jinyoung’s. “You’re soooo silly.”

“You are so irritating.” Jinyoung rolls his eyes. “And my wrists are not that floppy.”

 “A band? Soooo exciting. Let me feel your chest.” Mark playfully slaps Jinyoung’s chest with his free hand and mocks him with high pitched giggles.

“Honestly a huge pain in the ,” Jinyoung elbows him, and Mark’s giggling for real this time.

Jinyoung doesn’t comment on the fact that Mark’s arm is still on his waist when they get outside. It’s getting cold anyway.