Chapter 13

Arzenville High’s Student Lounge

Mark stares at the two people in front of him. He feels uncomfortable watching them. After the sleepover they had at the Im’s, Jinyoung and Youngjae got a lot closer now. And he feels like his childhood friend is trying to put distance between them.

It’s not like Jinyoung totally ignores him but the distance was obvious. They don’t sit beside each other anymore, the younger only talks to Mark when he addresses him, and they don’t walk to school together anymore. He even tried inviting Jinyoung to have casual dinner at Charlie’s but he was surprised when the younger brought the rest of the gang with him.

Mark worries if Jinyoung has decided already.

‘Maybe he decided to just ignore what I said to him and just went with Youngjae.’ Mark thought. He knows he’s being unfair because they never cleared the conversation they had but still feels like he wants Jinyoung for himself. He isn’t even a hundred percent sure if he really likes Jinyoung that way.

But he does feel irritated, sometimes even sad, when he sees his childhood friend laughing and smiling with the new kid in town.

“What’s up everyone!” Jackson made his presence known to his friends. They weren’t surprised by his loud voice. They were used to it. What surprised them was the guy in his arms. They’ve seen him in Scales Base before. And they confirmed it further when Jackson spoke.

“So, I want you all to meet Jooheon. MY Jooheon. I think you’ve seen him before when we went to the snakes’ bar? I didn’t get the chance to introduce you all because of, you know, what transpired back there.” Jackson laughed.

“Your boyfriend is a Python?” Bambam raised one of his brows.

“Yeah, any problem with that, Thai kid?” Jackson asked sassily. Bambam shook his head while raising his hands in the air as if surrendering, not wanting to anger his friend. “That’s what I thought.” The older smiled.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Jooheon.” Mark smiled at the new guy.

“Thanks. Hey, you’ve been a topic among the Pythons for a while after the scene you guys caused there. A lot of them thinks you’re pretty.” Jackson slapped his boyfriend’s chest. “Ouch! Hey, I said a lot of them. Not including myself. I think you’re the cutest.” The couple giggled at each other.

Jinyoung just observed and listened to Mark’s and the guy’s exchange. And he didn’t like it one bit when he saw a tinge of Mark’s blush because of the compliment.

But he was being a hypocrite if he let himself feel that way. He was the one putting some boundary between him and the elder but only because he had to think about and sort things out first. Mark wasn’t exactly clear either when they talked about their feelings and the younger didn’t want to assume.

What if Mark just misses Hyunwoo and Jinyoung just happens to be there for him? What if he’s just confused? Maybe he’s just jealous of his childhood best friend being close to someone else?

“So,” Jaebeom started, his eyes on the youngest person in the group, “any luck regarding the missing case files?”

Yugyeom went silent for a bit before looking down on the floor and shaking his head slowly.

“Missing case files?” Jooheon asked.

“Yeah. The case files for Hyunwoo’s death got robbed from the sheriff’s house. You know, the kid found in Sunset River.” Youngjae explained nonchalantly.

“Oh. Him.” Jooheon said. “Uhm, excuse me for a sec, okay? Babe?” Jooheon turned to his boyfriend.

“Yeah?”

“Do you mind showing me where the comfort room is?” He smiled and held his hand out for Jackson to take.

“Sure.” The smaller guy replied before leaving with his lover.

The whole group was quiet for a moment before, “Suspicious,” Jaebeom spoke.

Dismissal Time

“Hey Jinyoung!” Jackson called out to him. Jinyoung then turned around and saw Jackson running to catch up to him. “What’s up?”

“I have intel. Let’s go to Charlie’s.” Jinyoung frowned. “Should I tell the others too?” he asked.

“No. Just us. Besides, we’re going to talk about something other than the investigation. Plus, I missed having some alone time with my best friend.” Jackson beamed at him and Jinyoung snorted.

“Fine, whatever. It’s your treat.” The younger dared.

“No problemo, primo.” The other replied happily.

Charlie’s Diner

“So, let’s talk about the intel first, yeah?” Jinyoung said while munching on his fries.

Jackson stopped sipping on his milkshake then began speaking, “Okay. So, the thing is, Jooheon and I have been going out for a while now. Like, starting last summer. And we meet up in the woods in Orange Grove to…you know.” He fiddles with his fingers awkwardly not sure if the information is something he should be sharing his best friend.

Jinyoung widened his eyes and started laughing uncontrollably, “Ew! What the . In the woods? That’s so dirty!” He shrieked.

“Shut up. I wasn’t out to my parents that time yet.” The smaller guy rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I couldn’t say this to anyone back then because one, again, I wasn’t out to my parents yet. And two, I was scared to be judged because I was doing some…things.” He resumed.

“Do what things?” Jinyoung asked with his eyebrows meeting in the middle. For Jackson to be scared of telling him what he did, Jinyoung thought it must be pretty serious.

“Drugs.” The other admitted feebly.

The younger was surprised once again by the older guy’s revelation.

“You what?!” Jinyoung whispered loud enough for the other to hear for himself.

“Stop freaking out. It was just once, okay? I was stressed out that day.” Jackson defended himself.

Jinyoung slapped his arm out of nowhere. “Ow! What the hell was that for?” the shorter guy asked while glaring at the other. He thinks his friend could have made a good volleyball player as well. A spiker, to be specific.

“You need to swear you won’t ever do that again.” The younger pouts, crossed his arms and huffs.

“I swear. It was just one time. I already told Jooheon we are never doing that anymore.”

Jinyoung rolled his eyes. “Oh of course it was my dad’s minion who gave that to you.” The thought of it got him even more agitated.

“It wasn’t his influence, okay? I asked for it. I’m sorry.” Jackson apologized once again. “Can we go back to the topic about the intel?”

When the brunette was reminded of the main reason why they were at the diner, he sighed and decided to just let his friend’s wrongdoing go for a while. “Fine. Back to the intel.”

“Good. So, a while ago when I showed Jooheon the comfort room, I passed by this certain car parked near the school’s window. I felt like I’ve seen it in Orange Grove that exact same morning but I thought maybe I was just tripping since I was pretty high that time.”

There were others there that morning? Jinyoung was surprised to find out that there were more people near the lake that time than he thought. He just nodded at Jackson to let him know that he was still listening.

“But when I saw who went inside the car to get his things, I remembered it all clearly. Jinyeon owns that car.”

Jinyoung eyes shot wide. “Jinyeon? As in Hyunwoo’s ex? The one before Mark?” Now this is something they should also investigate and look into.

“Yeah. The one Hyunwoo played with according to rumors. They said Hyunwoo and some of his old friends made a bet on him.”

Jinyoung clicked his tongue. “Of course, it was with his old friends.” He said while slowly shaking his head as if he was reminded of something he disliked.

“Okay, I don’t know about this story. Was it ever talked about?” Jackson inquired.

“No. The team kept it for Hyunwoo’s sake. During the first year, he was actually going to get kicked out of the team. But since he is one of the ace players, we all decided to just not mention it to anyone and make him promise not to repeat the same mistake.” Jinyoung recalled.

“Well, don’t leave me clueless, buddy. What mistake?” the smaller guy asked impatiently.

“His previous friends were a bunch of s. They pick girls and gays to play with and bid prices if they get to sleep with them. It was immoral and the coach didn’t approve of it when he found out.”

“What the hell? For real? No wonder he suddenly stopped hanging out with them.” Jackson paused for a second or two, “No wonder you were trying to ruin him and Mark that time.”

Jinyoung sighed once again. “Don’t tell Mark anymore. He doesn’t have to know.”

The slightly older guy flashed a eating grin towards Jinyoung and cooed, “Aww the things Jinyoungie does for his Markie. For love.” He said, emphasizing the last word.

“Shut up. You-“ The younger was about to tell Jackson to stop teasing him about it when the diner’s door opened and he was shocked to see the person who went inside. But was even more speechless when he saw who that person was with.

“Speaking of the devil. And he’s with his little horn.” Jinyoung stated but frowned when he heard nothing from Jackson. He turned his head to the latter and saw him frowning, pupils shaking. It’s like he was thinking so hard about something.

“Jackson, are you okay?”

“Of course!” Jackson suddenly said.

“Are you sure? You don’t look good.”

“What do you mean?”

“You were thinking. It looks weird on you. Now, I know why you don’t think most of the time.”

“Shut up, er.” Jackson scoffed. “I remembered something else from that morning.”

“There’s more?”

“Jinyeon was with someone that time. Now, I know. He was holding a bag that time that’s obviously not his. Now I know who it belongs to.” Jackson explained.

Jinyoung frowned upon hearing the bit of information. “Don’t tell me…”

“Yes.” Jackson answered. “His little horn.” He said then pointed at the couple who were ordering their food.

Jinyeon and Jihan.

“Jihan. This little is now with Jinyeon?”