The week after the double date feels no different from the usual. There are minor differences here and there. Yugyeom and Bambam sit a bit closer than usual. Jaebum and Youngjae still act sickeningly sweet. And to the group’s surprise, Yugyeom and Bambam don’t try to give them a run for their money, content in acting like the way they did before the date, just with hand holding and some kisses here and there. Mark and Jinyoung act a bit more like a couple too, and Jackson feels like a seventh wheel, guys. Can you please stop making heart eyes at each other and make heart eyes at me instead? (=o w o=). And oh my god, stop feeding one another, feed me please, I’m starving (=u w u=).

In the end, Jinyoung takes up Mark’s offer of practicing lines with him, and Mark grins so widely he thinks it would break his face. Every day that week, Mark hounds the team to buy tickets to the upcoming play by the Drama Club. It seems like he talks about it too much though, because when he brings it up at the end of practice on Friday, his whole team had varying replies of “we already bought tickets,” “we’re going, please, you can stop now,” and “we get it, your boyfriend is a hotshot.” Mark will let that one slide because it’s true.

And like the other days of this week, Mark joins the end of the Drama Club rehearsals after every practice. He doesn’t bother looking at the Vote Jongin and Seulgi, Boogie with Seulgi, and Jongin for the Win-Win posters that litter the hallway, because looking at them just makes him want to tear them off the walls and rip them apart.

When Mark gets to the auditorium, he realizes that today last day before the big day, because they’re doing dress rehearsal. Like the last four days, Mark makes it to the last scene. He tries his best to make as little noise as possible whenever he enters. He usually does pretty well until he has to pull down one of the theater seats, which generally makes a loud creaking noise. Tactfully, Mark waits until they finish the last scene before taking a seat.

From here, he can see the tenseness of Jinyoung’s shoulders, wants to smooth them away, never to come back. From this distance, he can fully listen to Jinyoung’s words of encouragement, but he also hears the slight manic edge in the boy’s tone. Mark makes it his mission to make Jinyoung feel at ease tonight. However, it’s not merely Jinyoung who feels panicky. Everyone seems a bit scared, to be frank, but that’s probably to be expected seeing as the play is just a bit more than 24 hours away.

Jinyoung continues with his speech, talking about how proud he is of the whole club for putting this show together, how he can’t thank everyone enough for participating, especially since there’s a possibility that this could be their last performance ever. Mark’s heart feels a tight squeeze upon hearing that. Jinyoung wishes everyone a good sleep tonight and advises everyone to sleep well and rest well for the big day looming ever closer. When he thanks them one last time, Jinyoung gets glossy eyed, and the whole Drama Club claps. Jaebum and Youngjae are the first to give him a hug, followed by Doyoung. And one by one, the members begin to clump together with tears of sadness and cheers of joy.

Mark smiles at the scene.

They retreat one after another until it’s only Youngjae and Jaebum cradling him. Mark slowly makes his way over and enters the stage. When he does, Jaebum gives him a friendly nod while Youngjae greets him with a silent “hi” and a bright smile.

“Rest,” Jaebum orders to Jinyoung as he pats his cheek. Then he and Youngjae are fleeting the scene.

“Ready?” Mark asks. It’s a question for a lot of things. Ready for the show? Ready to leave so they can get to Mark’s house and practice? Ready to fall in love?

Jinyoung nods.

As soon as they make it to Mark’s place, they begin practicing. An hour or two pass before Mark thinks it’s time to stop. Jinyoung’s level of abilities has exponentially declined since they started today, and Mark thinks it has a lot to do with the nerves that crawl on people’s skin whenever they’re anticipating something big.

“Why don’t we take a break, princess,” Mark tries softly. Jinyoung seems to be getting more and more aggravated after every mistake in his lines. Jinyoung doesn’t say anything, just juts out his chin in frustration. Mark wants nothing more than to smooth away the lines on Jinyoung’s forehead.

Biting his lip, Mark takes Jinyoung by the hand and pulls him towards the window.

“Fresh air will be good for you,” Mark says before releasing Jinyoung’s hand and hopping out the window pane to the little roof. He settles nicely on the rooftop and turns back to look at Jinyoung expectantly.

“Princess?”

“Coming,” Jinyoung says softly. Mark can already see Jinyoung relaxing as soon as the younger boy sits down right next to him. The night is young, and even though the wind is chilly, Mark feels warmer than he’s been in a while.

“This is all very important to you isn’t it?”

Jinyoung nods solemnly.

“What about you?”

“What about me?” Mark asks gently.

“Why is Prom King so important to you?”

There’s a lot of reasons for that, and Mark isn’t sure he’s ready to spill them all.

“I think it will make me feel good.” Mark begins. He hopes it’s a good enough answer. “Like, real good.”

It apparently isn’t.

“Good how?”

Mark takes a steady breath.

“Like I’m important. Valued.”

“Do you not feel valued?” Mark can almost hear Jinyoung’s pout.

“Not from the people I desire it from.”

“And who might those be?”

Mark bites his lip.

“My parents.” Mark feels a waterfall rushing out of his chest, and his whole body feels lighter from declaring it.

“Oh.”

Yeah.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jinyoung admits.

“It’s okay. Nothing I haven’t cried over.”

“You’ve cried over it before?”

Mark chuckles delicately. “I’m a crybaby, princess.”

“I would’ve never thought of that.”

Mark giggles.

“Just so you know, I think you’re going to do marvelously well,” Mark smiles after saying it. He lies back and watches Jinyoung’s figure with the night sky in the background. He’ll keep this picture in his memory for as long as he can remember it.

Jinyoung doesn’t answer for a bit, and Mark can hear the younger male’s brain working on overdrive. There’s a sense of gloom that blankets Jinyoung’s shoulders upon hearing those words. Mark hopes he didn’t say anything wrong. It looks like he might have with the way Jinyoung looks as if he’s trying to make himself smaller.

“It’s not only my performance I’m worried about,” Jinyoung says before biting his lip and curling into himself. “What if there aren’t enough people who go to the play to convince Principal Park to keep the Drama Club?”

Mark doesn’t have an answer for that.

“What if people who said they would come don’t go?”

Mark doesn’t have an answer for that either. Mark realizes he doesn’t have an answer for a lot of things.

“Oh my god, Principal Park might actually shut down the D-Drama Club.” Mark’s heart feels a pang at the way Jinyoung’s voice cracks at the last two words. And then he feels even worse when Jinyoung starts blinking rapidly. He sits up immediately as soon as the first drop of tears spill out. . Way to go, Mark. This was supposed to be relaxing.

“Drama Club is the most important thing to me,” Jinyoung says through shaky breaths. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without it.”

Mark hushes Jinyoung. “It’s okay.”

Jinyoung sniffles. “I’m sorry for being so emotional.”

“No, don’t be sorry.”

“I’m not usually like this,” Jinyoung says softly.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Mark tries as he puts his arm around Jinyoung. “Princess.”

Jinyoung doesn’t answer him, can’t really answer him because he’s sniveling, and Mark’s whole chest aches when he notices the way Jinyoung’s lips are quivering. Mark pulls Jinyoung closer. Surprisingly, Jinyoung lets him. Mark wonders how long this has been bottled up inside Jinyoung. He should have asked about it before, should have known that this genuinely bothered Jinyoung since there was something real at stake from his half of the bargain.

He doesn’t know how it happens, but amidst all the comforting and the soft shushing, Mark ends up lying on his back with Jinyoung half on top of him. The younger’s head is placed safely in the crook of Mark’s neck. His heart beats a bit faster when he notices that Jinyoung has one arm slung over his torso. Mark can’t do anything but rub soothing circles on Jinyoung’s back, even though his hands are kind of shaking (he can blame the breeze for that). He tries to stabilize his breathing, attempting to match the steady exhalations tickling his neck.

He wants to say something, but doesn’t know what he can say to make Jinyoung feel better. It takes a while before his breathing matches Jinyoung’s. Jinyoung’s lashes feel like feathers on Mark’s neck. And no matter how much he tries to tell his heart to calm down, the little guy just won’t listen. Feelings. Gosh, this wasn’t supposed happen.

Though in hindsight, Mark isn’t really surprised that it did, what with the way Jinyoung looks like a literal prince despite having the wittiest retorts. The way Jinyoung’s eyes form little crescent moons when he hears something even the slightest bit funny. The way his lips form a perfect cupid’s bow, pink and lush and soft, and Mark can’t help but shiver when he remembers the feeling of their first kiss.

That goddamned kiss. Mark touches his lips with his free hand, thinks he feels the leftover tingles that stayed there hours after Jinyoung’s lips touched his, wonders if it’ll be the same if they were to do the same thing again.

Mark closes his eyes and tries to think of absolute nothingness. He fails miserably, because everything he can sense in his general vicinity, everything he can see, feel, touch, smell, taste is screaming Jinyoung Jinyoung Jinyoung. Jinyoung, who possesses the sort of DNA that can bring generations to their knees, who has his own sort of aura that alters the atmosphere wherever he walks. Jinyoung, who has that sharp mouth that can destroy cities in one blow, that physical presence that can shake the world more aggressively than any earthquake. Natural disasters have nothing on this boy when he can literally turn Mark’s world upside down, quicker than anything Mother Nature has ever thrown Mark’s way.

“Park Jinyoung.”

The words escape his mouth, and Mark stills for a second, wonders if Jinyoung heard it. But with the way Jinyoung’s breathing is totally even, Mark is certain that Jinyoung has fallen asleep on Mark’s chest. Fallen asleep. Damn. Mark wishes the younger boy had fallen in love instead. He chances a look at the sky, sees Sirius, one of the brightest stars during the evening.

“What do I do?”

He looks for the answer in the constellations, but he doesn’t find any. All he sees is the moon shining down at their entangled figure and the stars blinking back at him. They look as confused as he feels. A falling star shoots across the sky quickly. Mark is sure he would have missed it had he taken his eyes off for even the shortest moment.

“You’re driving me crazy,” Mark confesses into the night. The only response he hears is the rustling of leaves as the wind swirls by and the rhythmic breathing of Park Jinyoung.

Mark falls asleep for a bit as well, but stirs awake when he feels Jinyoung shivering. This is no good.

“Princess,” Mark says softly as he tries to shake the younger boy awake. “Princess.”

Jinyoung simply grunts in response.

“Princess, wake up.”

“Five more minutes,” Jinyoung whispers through his breath. Mark doesn’t think Jinyoung is fully awake when he said that. They could get sick, and a sick Jinyoung during opening day would be horrible. Mark takes a deep breath before deciding on lifting Jinyoung up bridal style. To his surprise, the younger boy remains deep in slumber. Goddamn, Mark is whipped and so, so ed. He struggles to get them back inside the room without bumping Jinyoung’s head on the window pane. On the third attempt, they make it to Mark’s bed with the sleeping boy left unscathed.

“Princess,” Mark tries one last time.

“Yeah?” Jinyoung says after a few seconds of silence, though his eyes are unopened.

Mark’s heartbeat is erratic. So much so that he thinks it will burst out of his chest at the tiniest prod.

“Do you want to sleep over?” Mark holds his breath.

Jinyoung doesn’t answer for a while, and Mark is positive that the younger boy has fallen asleep once more. He lets himself stare unabashedly at Jinyoung’s sleeping face. And then…

“Yes.”

It’s so soft that Mark almost didn’t hear it. He traces the outline of Jinyoung’s face with his eyes.

“Perfect.”

***

Mark sleeps behind Jinyoung, his arm under Jinyoung’s head, his other arm carefully shielding Jinyoung from the rest of the world, while his face is burrowed in Jinyoung’s nape.

***

Mark dreams of pretty boys and pretty eyes and pretty sounds and pretty smells and pretty everything.

***

The first thing that Mark registers in his mind when he wakes is the sweet smell that’s filling his nose. The second is the warmth that’s emanating from the person sleeping next to him. Except, the person is not sleeping. When Mark takes a tiny peek, he sees that Jinyoung is facing him, his fingers playing delicately against Mark’s collarbone. His head is still on top of Mark’s arm, while Mark’s free hand is slung defensively around the Jinyoung’s lower back.

Jinyoung is humming a soft tune that Mark is sure he’s heard in his dreams. The pad of his finger is still tracing Mark’s collarbone and Mark has the overwhelming need to shiver, but he fights it off because he wants this dreamlike scene to continue, for Jinyoung to caress his whole face, kiss him good morning like people do in those romantic TV shows.

“Good morning,” Jinyoung whispers, fingers now drawing invisible lines against Mark’s upper chest. Mark doesn’t answer.

“I know you’re awake,” Jinyoung says softly. Mark cracks one eye fully open. Jinyoung isn’t looking at him still, simply staring at Mark’s clavicle.

“How did you know?” Mark asks groggily.

“Your breathing has gotten less even.”

The sun is out and is filtering quite warmly through the curtains. The window is slightly ajar, evidence of last night’s rooftop talk. The birds outside are humming, but Mark thinks the sounds coming from Jinyoung’s lips earlier sounded lovelier.

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You looked like you needed the rest.” Jinyoung answers.

“I think it’s you who needs the rest, princess.” With bated breath, Mark reaches up to touch Jinyoung’s cheek. He doesn’t stare at Jinyoung, instead lets his eyes follow where his knuckles are grazing Jinyoung’s cheek.

“Are you hungry?” Mark says suddenly, pulling his hand away. Goddamn his weak self.

“Famished.”

Mark hurries out of the room feeling warm. One look at the clock shows that it’s already past 9:00 am, which means his parents has already left for work. There’s a soft ache in his chest at the fact that he can’t show off Jinyoung to his parents. Maybe he’ll be able to do it sometime in the upcoming weeks.

Mark makes Jinyoung eggs. Mostly because that and ramen are really the only things he knows how to cook. Though that may be, he’s mastered flavoring the egg using garlic salt, soy sauce, and pepper.

When Jinyoung enters the kitchen, Mark almost drops the spatula he’s holding.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Jinyoung says shyly. “I was cold, and my jean jacket isn’t exactly comfy, so I took one of your sweatshirts.”

The way Jinyoung looks wearing Mark’s clothing has Mark’s mouth completely dry. This domestic feeling, of Mark cooking breakfast and Jinyoung looking sleep-muddled in Mark’s sleepwear, is making Mark head go fuzzy.

“That’s fine.”

They eat in silence, not comfortable but not quite uncomfortable either. There’s a palpable tension in the air that Mark can’t quite pinpoint.

Mark drives Jinyoung home. Jinyoung needs to get ready after all. Mark accompanies him to the front porch.

“Thank you,” Jinyoung says.

“Don’t mention it.”

“Okay, I won’t.” Jinyoung chuckles.

“I’ll see you tonight then?”

“That you will.”

Jinyoung gives him a quick smile before entering his house and closing the door. Well, at least Mark got to walk him this time.

With a sigh, Mark returns to his car and drives to the nearest floral shop.

A sweet aroma wafts around Mark as soon as he enters. There’s a nice looking girl on the counter, hair lighter than brown and darker than orange, with a smile that seems automatic but genuine nonetheless.

Mark looks around at all the flowers. He didn’t realize there were so many. He also didn’t know that various flowers had various meanings and that different colors portrayed different emotions. There are many to choose from, with sunny yellow chrysanthemums, and simple orange poppies to beautiful pink carnations and flaming red roses. At a loss, Mark goes up to the helper for assistance.

“Hello, err-” Mark looks at the girl’s nametag. “Rosé.”

Mark had to do a double take. What a coincidence that she was named after a flower. Or is it after wine?

“Cool name with you working here and all.”

The girl shrugs. “It gets old. As you can see,” She motions at the whole shop. “My mom loves flowers.”

“Looks like. Well, I was wondering if you could help me pick a bouquet?”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“I want a bouquet that says congratulations but with full of love. And something that says lover, but not too obvious.”

Rosé contemplates for a bit, as if tossing ideas in her head before her eyes light up.

“Oh! I have just the thing.”

***

It’s backstage, right before the play, when Mark gets to see Jinyoung again. And Jinyoung is restless. Mark feels dizzy from how Jinyoung is pacing back and forth, fingers getting more jittery with every step.

“What if I mess up?” Jinyoung says to himself.

“You won’t.”

“What if I look like a fool onstage?”

“You’re not.”

“What if the audience laughs at me?”

“Why would they do that?”

“Oh my god, what if there isn’t even an audience?”

And okay, that one does it. Mark stands up and takes both of Jinyoung’s hands in his.

“Princess.” Mark tries.

“Yes?” Jinyoung looks so utterly lost, and Mark isn’t quite sure how to make him feel better.

“You’re not going to mess up.” Mark reassures him. “And you’re not going to look like a fool onstage, okay?”

“How do you know that?” Jinyoung pouts.

“This is sort of top secret,” Mark leans in and whispers. “But I believe in you too.”

And Mark sees the recognition of a similar statement reflected in Jinyoung’s eyes.

Mark pecks Jinyoung on both cheeks.

Everyone oohs and hoots. Mark completely forgot that the Drama Club is literally in their general vicinity.

“I’m giving back the luck you gave me from the basketball game.”

Jinyoung smiles.

“Thanks.”

***

Mark is sitting comfortably in the front row (he has a reserved seat in the front along with Jackson, Yugyeom, and Bambam). He looks back at the full auditorium and gives himself a pat on the back. There are a ton of familiar faces in the crowd.

Mark sees most of the basketball team either with a friend or their lover. There’s some people from the glee club, with Yuju talking animatedly with them. The cheerleaders are here too, complete with their uniform and high ponytails, but Jihyo and Nayeon are the only ones Mark really knows by name. Kai and his posse is absent, thank god. But it looks like Seulgi’s little group of friends is here, Wendy and Sooyoung and the freshman girl who Mark thinks is named Yeri. Suzy and her tennis team are here in support as well. When Mark’s eyes land on her, she immediately waves at him, and Mark instinctively waves back.

And then the curtains open and out comes Jinyoung in all his regality and introduces the play. Mark is sure he’s never been prettier.

When the play begins, Mark is instantly mesmerized. He can see the effort it took to make the details on the props that go in and out of the stage. He hears the amount of practice the club has put from the way every syllable, every intonation of the word, is said with conviction and ease. Their costumes are finely stitched and finished from head to toe.

And every time Jinyoung comes out, Mark’s whole throat dries up. Mark thinks if there’s anyone who can pull off looking like a modern day prince, it’s unquestionably Park Jinyoung. He has the image down to the tiniest detail. His slacks are white and stain-free and looks as if they’re shining under the spotlight. The coat he’s wearing is accented with gold trim, and there’s a princely posture that can be noted in Jinyoung’s straight back and upward tilted face. His words sound both foreign and familiar at the same time. The prince-like voice is perfectly captured in the inflection of each word, and Mark’s heart sings at everything coming out of Jinyoung’s mouth.

“Wow,” Jackson says whenever Jinyoung comes out from the curtains. Mark feels a thousand times that.

In the end, Mark is sure his heart stopped at least twenty-eight times from the absolute perfection of the performance.

To say that the play is magnificent is an understatement. The level of professionalism exuded from each member of the play was up to par. To finish it off, the members all come to the center of the stage individually, then holding hands, looking as exhilarated as Mark feels. In unison, the Drama Club bows, and suddenly the auditorium explodes with cheers. But Mark is the first to stand up, and he claps until his palms sting and roars until his throat feels sore. Single roses and flowers come raining down the stage, and the grins on each of the members’ faces show how much they truly appreciate the audience and their support.

Mark’s whole body feels giddy from the whole thing, because yeah, they just saved the Drama Club. And the performance was amazing, and the audience was amazing, and Park Jinyoung was the most amazing out of all of them.

“I’ll be right back,” Mark says to Jackson, Bambam, and Yugyeom.

Mark hurries to his car, nerves crackling from every part of his skin. This feels monumental somehow, as if things can truly change tonight.

He opens the door of his car and is greeted by appreciation objectified. There it is, the big bouquet. Mark grabs it from the passenger seat and inspects the whole set to make sure that every little stem and every tiny leaf is perfect.

The bouquet consists of white gardenias, a symbol of joy and good luck, and of sweet and secret love. It is decorated with deep-blue irises, to represent good news. And topped with light-pink roses, to signify the desire and passion building inside Mark’s entire person.

True to Jinyoung’s word, Mark really did purchase a bouquet that cost more than he would like to admit. He feels silly, almost shy, at remembering the price of this set of blossoms. But the cost of these floras pales at how much Jinyoung means to Mark.

And it’s with these happy thoughts that Mark sees Wonpil lifting Jinyoung.

He has to look more closely to see whether this truly is happening. And sure enough, there Wonpil goes with Jinyoung, not just lifting, but spinning them in celebration. Jinyoung is wearing a delighted expression that Mark thought was reserved for him only, a smile going from ear to ear that Mark thought Jinyoung shows only to him.

And all at once, Mark feels the walls of the hallway caving in. He suddenly feels stupid and dumb and inadequate and unworthy of love.

He sees Taehyung walking by in all the madness and immediately grabs him.

“Wha-”

“Taehyung,” Mark says quickly. “I need you to give this to Jinyoung.”

Mark hands over the bouquet.

“I just need to not be here right now.”

Taehyung looks confused at the whole situation. “Are you sure?”

Mark nods and wishes he hadn’t done that because he feels light headed from the action.

“Should I say it’s from you?”

“Sure,” Mark replies. “Thank you, Tae. I owe you.”

Before the other boy can even answer, Mark is turning around and is speed walking to the closest bathroom. He thinks the food he ate from afternoon is coming back up from his stomach. He can almost taste the bile in his mouth. His eyes feel really itchy, and Mark can feel the tears that he knows is building up behind them.

When Mark find the closest restroom, he immediately enters one of the stalls in case somebody comes in. He doesn’t cry, or at least he tries not to.

He doesn’t even know if Jinyoung still likes Wonpil. Sure, he apparently had a crush on him before, but Jinyoung did say that he was over that now. But is he? Mark is instantly reminded of the scene from the mall, Jinyoung subtly flirting with Wonpil. Jinyoung flirts with Mark too, right? Or is that just Mark projecting what he wants things to mean. Jinyoung has never expressed any interest in Mark before all of this, so there’s really no reason to say that that’s the case.

But it could have changed in the time that they’ve been fake dating, right? It obviously did for Mark. Though before this, Mark always did think Jinyoung was one of the prettiest boys he’s ever seen, but he didn’t like him like that. He didn’t want to actually date him. Who knows if that’s the case for Jinyoung.

There is only one fact here that is proven, and that is Jinyoung’s crush on Wonpil, whether it’s in the past or still in the present, it was there in Jinyoung’s feelings. Everything else other than Mark’s affection for Jinyoung is unknown and supported only by speculation. And this speculation is rather skewed as Mark may have a tendency to resort to wishful thinking.

Nonetheless, Mark is jealous and slightly heartbroken. Admitting it is both liberating and confining. Liberating because Mark can flush them out of his mind in acknowledgement, but as it leaves his brain, these dark emotions insert themselves into the corners of Mark’s heart, until Mark feels imprisoned by them.

He’s snapped out from his pondering when he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. Mark sighs in annoyance. Whoever it is can off. But one look at his screen has Mark’s chest feeling tight.

It’s from Jinyoung.

To: Markie-Poo
I got your flowers; where are you?

Just looking at the notification makes Mark feel dizzy and bittersweet. For one, he thinks it has a sense of longingness there that he’s not sure if he’s just making up. But he’s not quite sure if he’s ready to face Jinyoung yet.

After all, two thirds of their agreement have been fulfilled. The first of which was getting Yugyeom and Bambam together. The second, which they just accomplished just a while ago, was to save Jinyoung’s Drama Club. The third. Well, let’s not talk about things that have yet to happen.

There’s a sense of finality in facing Jinyoung again, as if facing him in person signals the beginning of the end. And oh god, he doesn’t want this to end yet, not when he already feels to invested in whatever relationship he has with Jinyoung. Mark thought Jinyoung may have felt it too, with those soft touches and sweet talks and cheek kisses reserved for Mark and Mark only. But now, he’s not so sure, not when he’s seen him looking blissful at being lifted by Wonpil. God, just thinking about the image of them makes Mark want to punch the wall.

So he does.

The loud bang echoes in the bathroom and pain explodes from where skin and bones collides with hard tiles. Mark knew he was vain. Mark knew he could be impatient sometimes. He knows he has the capacity to destroy and obliterate and self destruct. He knows he has all of these imperfections, but he didn’t realize greediness was one of them.

God, is he greedy. He’s totally selfish when it comes to Jinyoung’s soft touches. He is absolutely greedy when it comes to sweet talks with Jinyoung. Mark is especially ravenous when it comes to cheek kisses coming from Jinyoung’s plump lips. And he is insatiable concerning texts and calls and any form of communication from Jinyoung.

And , he forgot about Jinyoung’s text. With unsteady breathing, he sends Jinyoung a reply.

To: Princess (Yeah, he changed Jinyoung’s name on his phone, sue him)
Sorry, princess. Felt a bit sick so I went to the bathroom. Don’t worry I’m coming

Mark stares at the mirror for a long time, sees the bitter face of jealousy looking right back at him.

He washes his face for an entire minute, hopes the clean water can cleanse him from these filthy thoughts. Mark starts on his way back to find Jinyoung, but as soon as he opens the bathroom door, he sees that Jinyoung is already waiting by the entrance. The bouquet of flowers is held safely by Jinyoung, one hand on the handle and the other arm almost cuddling it.

“Hey,” Jinyoung greets awkwardly. “You okay?”

Mark immediately hugs him, feels satisfied at the lack of distance between them, but also not content enough.

“You did so well, princess” Mark whispers into Jinyoung’s ears. “So well. I’m so proud.”

Mark feels Jinyoung exhale and then Jinyoung is embracing him back just as tightly.

“Thank you.”

They don’t let go. Mark refuses to. If Jinyoung wants to them to separate, Jinyoung will have to do it first. Mark wants this moment to go on forever. It’s half a minute before Jinyoung coughs and releases Mark. And so Mark pulls back as well.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just deep in thought.”

Mark takes Jinyoung’s free hand, the one not holding the bouquet.

“It looks like you’ll definitely be keeping the Drama Club,” Mark says softly.

“Yeah.” Jinyoung smiles at him. “But we still need to get you that crown.”

To heck with the crown. All Mark wants now is a place in Jinyoung’s heart.

“Yes.” Mark says and is careful not to put an emphasis on the next sentence.

“We do.”