Chapter 15

“Spit it out Mark!” I sounded impatient, not being able to take the suspense that Mark was leaving in his silence. He got a hold of my hand and began rubbing my knuckles, leaving a tingling sensation travel across my skin.

“I told her that I was her father,” he simply let out as if it were nothing.

“I think I figured that out already…” I said biting my lip and squeezing his wrist. “Please tell me you didn’t leave it at that?”

Mark smirked. It bothered me that he didn’t look like his normal serious self. It was almost as if he were mocking me with that painfully attractive grin.

“Of course not,” he answered, allowing me to let out a sigh of relief. “You should ask Rylynn what she understood.”

I hit the side of his rib cage and grumbled in frustration.

“Damn you Mark! Why did you tell her without my permission? You are so darn stupid!”

His smile dropped as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Lina,” he called out. My glare shot up as I tried my best to control my frustration. “My intention isn’t what you think it is. I don’t want you to be with me because you feel sorry for me or because I’m Rylynn’s father by blood. If you ever decide to let me into Rylynn’s life, it has to be because you want to.”

Mark bit his lip, a habit that I noticed he didn’t let go of, even until now.

“Ever since we were teenagers, I’ve always used my bipolar disorder to justify why I should get my way. It was wrong of me. I’ve done enough damage to your life to force anything upon you anymore.”

I was taken aback, not because what Mark was saying came as a shock. It was simply because I could tell that Mark had grown up. He was no longer the needy and vulnerable teenager he once was. The whole aura that transpired from him was mature and under complete control of his emotions. My departure definitely did him some good.

“Rylynn will always be yours one way or another. You’re part of her. How can I not let you into her life?” Although I knew that Rylynn wouldn’t have much time with her father in the current circumstances, I still thought that Mark had the right to be there for his daughter, even with the little time left in each other’s presence.

Mark pushed the strand of hair that covered my left eye and tucked it in behind my ear. His fingers circled my jaw line as he gawked at me.

“Lina, as long as Jackson is my best friend, he will always be my number one competition when it comes to you,” he remarked, blinking his eyes, making his eyelashes seem long.

“Well I don’t like Jackson… That was four years ago. What gives you the idea that I still do?” I lied, leaning against the wall and crossing my arms.

“For one, I know that one of my best friend’s favorite songs is Rylynn and it just so happens to be our child’s name. I wonder why,” he fought back, seemingly very serious now. It didn’t seem like it was very easy for him to admit, as his voice was dry.

“Mark,” I wanted to explain but got cut off.

“You can’t control who you like, Lina,” Mark finally protested, remaining as serious as ever. He began to take a few steps back, and dragged his feet back down the hallway, disappearing behind the walls. I sighed, feeling more confused than ever. Mark was right, but it didn’t make liking Jackson any more acceptable.

I shrugged off the comment, reminding myself that there were more important things to think about in the present time. I realized how much time I’ve been thinking about my love life since I got to Korea and how much I’ve been neglecting my daughter’s need and her whole reason for being here. She was the reason we made this trip, and I was spending way too much time debating on a father for Rylynn that would probably never have the opportunity to take care of her in the first place.

Both Jackson and Mark couldn’t afford a family as a distraction to their careers and Rylynn wasn’t going to stick around for very long. We had to go home soon, and we had no plans in ever returning to Korea after this trip.

I walked back into the room where I had left Rylynn and Jackson, only to find him holding her up in his arms and making his way to the exit at the same time as I entered. He had a quaint look on his face as he glared at my entrance. He frowned angrily, though I couldn’t explain why. As he rubbed Rylynn’s back, I could sense aggravation in his way of eying me.

“Where’s Mark?” he asked, significantly less amused than how I had left him earlier.

“He’s in the other room probably. I don’t know,” I answered, laying my eyes on my daughter who had her chin on top of Jackson’s broad shoulder. Jackson leaned forward to hand me Rylynn with much gentleness.

“Rylynn has a stomach ache. She started feeling a little bit weird all of a sudden and began calling for you,” he explained, his voice clearly showing that something else was bothering him as well. Before even being able to thank him, Jackson had already flown out the door without a sound.

After a quick nod of dissatisfaction, I put my focus back on Rylynn who was quietly. Her normally big brown eyes were hidden under her eyelids. I began to feel a little nervous when she squeezed my bicep tightly.

“Are you okay sweety?” I asked taping her back. Seeing Rylynn in this sort of pain was what hurt me the most in the world. It caused me to resent a tingling sensation in my bones and a pierce directly to my heart. “Does it really hurt a lot? Do you want to go to the hotel and rest?”

Rylynn nodded, resting her head on my shoulder and closing her eyes.

“I want to stay and watch daddy sing before we go home,” she insisted, her eyes remaining shut.

With a look of concern on my face, I continued to pat her back as I made my way out the dressing room and into the main hall where the stage was to be held. I looked around and claimed a seat where the GOT7 fans were to stay and took out Rylynn’s medicine out of my bag.

I poured the liquid into the clear measuring cup and brought it to Rylynn’s lips, letting her gorge down the medication slowly. Rylynn was so frail and all her energy from earlier had died down. She had been in fairly good shape since we came to Korea surprisingly. She had always been in and out of the hospital being a sickly child.

I couldn’t help but shed a tear when seeing her struggle sitting up on my lap. I felt sorry for how much Rylynn suffered growing up, especially without a father to support her at any point in her life.

Once GOT7 came out on stage, Rylynn began to regain strength, holding her body weight a little better. As many shouted for their lives to get GOT7’s attention, Rylynn titled her head to get a better view past the army of fangirls that surrounded us.

“Rylynn, did uncle Mark talk to you this morning?” I asked, her eyes still amazed at her favorite group dancing away on stage. She nodded lightly. “Do you remember what he told you?” I held onto her waist tighter.

“He told me that he was sorry.”

My eyes grew, curious to know what else Mark had explained.

“What for?”

“Daddy said that he was sorry for not taking care of me. He really loves mommy and wish he could’ve treated you better. He said that he did something very bad to you a long time ago and because of it, he doesn’t deserve to come live with us at home,” she finished explaining, leaning the back of her head on my chest.

“Did he tell you anything else?” I tried to figure out if Mark spilled out everything.

“Daddy said that he made you cry many times and that I should understand you if you don’t like him and don’t want him to be my father!” she stated, her sweet angelic voice saying over the shouts of people around.

Lifting my head towards the stage, I laid my eyes on Mark, listening to his voice vibrate in the mic as he sang his part. Mark was a complex individual; he was sweet, loving and very loyal, yet he scared the living hell out of me.

Finally the song came to an end, leaving all the GOT7 fans on their feet. I covered Rylynn’s ears to avoid deafening her with all the high pitched screams that encircled us. At that very moment, watching the group march out of the spotlight, I spotted the little shove Jackson gave Mark while leaving the stage. Mark’s body had lunged backwards as his friend had punched out his hand towards him in frustration. The action sort of magnified in my perspective seeing Jackson’s glare of terror given to Mark, the same glare of aggravation that I could sense before he left me with Rylynn earlier.

I then turned my attention to my daughter who was playing with the strap of my bag.

“Rylynn, I hope that you didn’t tell anyone that your daddy is Mark.” I asked, sensing that that was probably what triggered all the resentment in the first place.

“Only Uncle Jackson because he said that he will keep it a secret and won’t ever tell anyone,” she blurted out, confirming my suspicions. I nodded my head and shut my eyes, finally understanding Jackson’s sudden shift of behavior.

Without delaying for even a second longer, I shot up, landing on my feet and pulling my heavy bag and daughter with me. Rylynn appeared to be running out of breath as I moved quickly towards GOT7’s dressing room once again, only to find nobody but Youngjae there.

“Youngjae, dear, I’m looking for Jackson or even Mark for that matter… It’s an emergency,” I inquired with a sense of urgency in my voice.

“They just walked out to get some fresh air, noona!” he answered, waving at Rylynn, who stood beside me catch her breath.

“Can you look after Rylynn for just a second?” I requested, not even waiting for an answer and slipping Rylynn’s fingers between his before charging out the door. Knowing that both of them had gone outside alone didn’t sound like it would lead to anything good.  I struggled to find the backdoor exit, turning every which way only to make myself dizzy.

Finally managing to grasp the handle I was looking for, I pushed the door open, finding two silhouettes in the shadows of the alley. It was Jackson, holding Mark’s collar and pushing him against the wall, staring at him with anger that meant death.

I ran quickly to separate the two, forming a shield on front of Mark when seeing the blood that spilled at the corner of his lip.

“Jackson, don’t you dare hurt him,” I yelled, putting my hand on his chest.

“I’m gonna rip this bastard’s head off!” he mumbled, ignoring anything I said.

“Calm down, idiot!” I said as he tried to push me away without success.

“Lina, get out of the way,” I heard Mark’s voice quiver behind me. His arm was leaning against the wall to keep him from falling.

“You knew that it was Mark who you, and you let it slide just like that?” asked Jackson, his bloodshot eyes not once leaving his best friend.

“He’s your best friend, Jackson. I didn’t want to be a hindrance to that friendship!” I breathed out, pushing Jackson back as he got closer in order to get to Mark.

“What friend? This ? He’s not my friend! Last time I checked, friends didn’t go around their friend’s girl,” muttered Jackson, his push on my chest getting gradually aggressive and harder to hold back.

“Idiot! Are you stupid? I’m the one who got , not you! And I’m telling you to freaking step back and calm down. This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you in the first place.” My tears were on the verge of spilling all over my cheeks, but I prayed that I would stay strong. My chest was practically glued to Jackson, my arms holding onto the fabric of his shirt behind him.

“Lina, move, you’ll get hurt,” ordered Mark with an arm reaching for my waist, but I didn’t move an inch. 

“Do you know how hard it was to sacrifice everything for you just so you wouldn’t kill yourself?" began Jackson, addressing himself to Mark with anger. "I had to pretend to hate Lina so you wouldn’t get the feeling that I was a threat to taking her away from you. I hid everything for you! It killed me how much it hurt. Then you do that? I can’t even look at you anymore, Mark! You’re disgusting!” screeched Jackson, his voice giving me the shivers. I could feel his broad shoulder trembling as they touched my skin. The pain and urgency that he transpired when he paid a scary visit at the hotel the other day was exactly what I resented from his behavior now.

In the midst of the brawl, the door leading backstage swung open, letting out a breeze. It was Youngjae who had rushed over with Rylynn crying in his arms. At this, I moved away from Jackson and ran to his side, only to brush Rylynn’s hair out of the way.

Jackson and Mark suddenly turned their gazes towards my daughter, releasing the tension that lingered between them.

“I don’t know what I did wrong. She just started crying and she told me that she wasn’t allowed to tell me what was wrong. I’m sorry, noona,” he apologized, panicking over Rylynn’s quiet sobs. Sweat drained down side of her brow and her breathing quickened by the minute. I calmly took Rylynn in my arms and rubbed her back.

“Youngjae! If you’re going to take care of Rylynn, do it properly!” yelled Jackson, coming over to my side, away from Mark. Jackson rubbed Rylynn’s wet cheek and frowned at her tears.

“It’s not Youngjae’s fault, idiot. Stop raging at everyone just because you’re upset,” I simply let out, giving Youngjae an apologetic look. Though I was not surprised to see Rylynn like this, I began to hurt knowing how much pain she was experiencing. “Youngjae, can you call an ambulance?” My voice came out soft and vulnerable. I was trying my best to fight off the tears. Youngjae nodded in concern and ran inside quickly to find a phone.

“Rylynn, don’t worry sweety. We’ll bring to the doctor’s office and the pain will all go away,” I soothed with my softest voice. Jackson stared at me intently, observing my every move. He was holding Rylynn’s frail hand and kissing the tip of her fingers. Suddenly, Mark slipped his arms around Rylynn and carried her in my place. I dimly smiled at him for helping me out, dropping my head low as I felt my body go numb.

Jackson glared at his friend, still bitter about Mark holding a child he didn’t deserve.

“Why do you seem to know what’s going on, Lina? You don’t seem all that surprised or panicked that your daughter is in deep pain,” remarked Jackson, tilting his head to my level and searching for my eyes.

I lifted my head, finally, and bit my lip out of habit.

“I already know what’s wrong with her,” I simply put out. Jackson frowned. “I know exactly what’s going on.”

Hey!!! Hope you enjoyed this update!

This story is nearing the end. I give it 2 to 4 more chapters.  Get your tissue boxes ready cause it's going to be a sad ride to the end. Yes, I'm evil like that.

If you guys haven't checked it out yet, I wrote a Jackson one-shot: Nothing More Than That

Thank you for all your support!

God Bless You All!