Chapter Finale – Jackson Ver.

3 years later.

“There is no way that I’m forgiving that bastard for anything,” Jackson last said before we parted ways. I never forgot those words because I always hope that they weren’t true. In my heart I knew that Jackson would keep that promise.

If there were one person that he would even consider picking over his family, it was Mark. Even I don’t think I would ever reach that level.

I waited on my seat for my turn along with all the other people that came. I hadn’t been updated on much that was happening in Korea since I went back home to LA. Once I left, I decided to cut myself off from all of my past and focused on more important things. I came back once a year to visit Rylynn in her grave, spend a couple of hours talking to her, but that was all.

Here I was, back in Korea, the place where my life became bipolar. Along with everything I left here, I left Rylynn’s remains there too. Because she accidentally happened there, it was only appropriate that she stayed there, where her father was. Although I visited every year, this was the first time that I decided to walk around the area for a proper visit.

After landing, I decided to stop by a few places before heading to the graveyard where Rylynn’s body was. This was one of them.

The line up of people was long. Really long. I didn’t realize they were that popular until now. Finally, my row was called, giving me the cue to stand up and walk to the front. Each step became heavy as I came forward and went up the stairs.

There they were…

Sitting at the table; the seven boys. They looked so much older, so much more mature. Their stage clothes were so manly and grown-up.  As I made my way on front of the first person, I cleared my throat to make my presence known since he was so consumed in talking to the fan right on front of me.

Once he was just about done, he turned his gaze and gave me a double take. He stared at me for a good thirty seconds, his eyes not turning away. I awkwardly coughed again and pushed the album I had in my hand towards him.

“Hi, Mark-sshi,” I began politely. “I’m here to get my album signed.”

I face palmed for making such an obvious remark.

He grabbed onto the album that I waved across his face a few times and scribbled his name in the photo book with his picture in it.

“How are you?” he asked in the middle of jotting down his name. It took me a few seconds to process that he asked me a question.

“Not bad. Yourself?” I threw back, panicked, but trying to hide it as best I could.

“I’ve been better, still on meds for obvious reasons. But I’m not as moody as I used too,” he stated, scratching his head. “ How about your parents?”

“They hate your guts. Nothing new.” His guard came shooting down when hearing about my parents, but immediately brought his chin back up and beamed.

There was long pause until I noticed that he was about to write my name on the album. 

“Wait a sec, can you write the album to my daughter?” I suggested, fighting my urge to say “our” for the sake of people hearing.

“Yeah,” he whispered with a smile, writing Rylynn’s name in clear lettering. There was so much that I wanted to say and ask, but I didn’t feel like saying it in the middle of a fan sign event would be appropriate.

“I really missed those times when we were good friends and we were able to converse naturally,” he confessed, twirling the pen with his fingers. To be honest, I felt the same. Ever since that incident, I had always wanted to forget everything and remain friends, but it was hard for me. The trauma I experienced from that was too strong, and I sort of forgot that we were friends for a while .

But at one point in life, dwelling on a mistake that you knew wasn’t completely the person’s fault was pointless. I really wanted to have those same old conversations with Mark that we used to, before everything became a mess.

“Agreed, now it’s just plain awkward,” I finally said honestly under my breath. “Well if you’re not busy, I was thinking of visiting Rylynn at the cemetery later tonight.”

Mark glanced on either side and leaned forward.

“I’d love that.”

“But I’m expecting a meal afterwards. You’re paying!” I joked playfully before moving onto Bambam who was right beside him.

It made me happy to see him like that. Mark seemed different. There was something else that came out of him when we spoke. He seemed a lot more at peace in his skin and a lot less tired and anxious. He seemed so much healthier. It made me feel so thankful.

The rest of the boys were just as they were before. It was as if I had never left. Although I didn’t get as much time to talk to each one as I would’ve hoped for, I was glad that I got to see each one and thank them for being so kind to me over the years. Though it was hard to hide my overexcitement when greeting each one, I had really missed them and had expressed it quite clearly.

After teasing Jaebum for the Minnie Mouse ears that a fan gave him, I finally had one more person left to ask to sign my GOT7 album.

Until now, Jackson did not even spare me a glance. I wondered if he just didn’t see me or he was ignoring me on purpose.

“Until Mark isn’t ready mentally, we shouldn’t be speaking to each other,” I warned him three years before, right before parting ways. It felt like forever since I could speak with Jackson. I’ve been waiting for that time to come, yet it he seemed so indifferent about it all.

“Yo! Sign this so we can get it over with,” I imposed with an annoyed voice.

“Okay. Sassy fan over here,” he commented, rolling his eyes. He didn’t seem one bit surprised that I was there. I guess he did see me then. “Who should I make it to?”

“Rylynn,” I answered abruptly. “Hurry so I go back to my seat, my legs hurt.”

“Are you even a GOT7 fan?” he asked, still playing as if he didn’t know me. Looks like he took our deal from years ago seriously.

“I guess, but my daughter was probably a bigger fan than I was. Though, I always told her to be careful with Jackson Wang. He’s too much of a bad influence on her,” I told him, my arms crossed. “I very much prefer Mark over Jackson any day.”

“Oh really?” he expressed, his eyebrows raised. He tossed me the album back and glared playfully. “It’s a shamed cause I don’t really care,” he continued with a jealous tone. I scoffed and turned around, walking back to my seat. Not to far away from the stage, I could see Jackson still glaring at me like a bitter child.

I chuckled some more. There were things that never changed.

I missed him. A lot.

Making myself comfortable on my seat, I flipped though the pages where the members signed on my album. I laughed at Youngjae’s attempt to write in English. I laughed at Jinyoung’s drawing of Rylynn fixing his hair, a memory that I would always cherish.

Finally getting to Jackson’s, I spotted a short line of writing. I didn’t even notice him writing anything when I was on front messing with him. His handwriting was sloppy, but not bad for a boy who had to copy his name a few hundred times a day.

“I kept our promise,” it read, as it referred to the promise about forgiving Mark, I assumed. “You owe me. Stick around a little later to pay me back.”

I glanced back up at Jackson, only to find him glaring back at me.

“What a creep,” I whispered while rolling my eyes. I scanned the page some more and found a little note on the corner. It read: “Rylynn, my daughter. Although you weren’t mine by blood, I love you as if you were. I promise to take care of your mom from now on. I miss you. –Jackson Wang.”

And there it was. The double sided Jackson that I’ve always known: Rude and conceited one moment, and sweet and loveable the next. His general aura made me all sorts of confused.

After being stuck in a long daze, I realized that the fan sign event was over and the boys were starting to clear the table and began to give out their goodbye message to the fans. All the fans around me began to disperse and exit the room, leaving me in a bubble of my own and wondering what was going on around me.

I came back to my senses and remembered that Jackson wanted me to stay behind, so I leaned back on my chair and waited some more. None of the security guards seemed to be bothered by my presence, so I assumed that they knew me.

Suddenly, once the room was almost completely empty, I felt a tug on my arm. I was pulled up the stage and into the back where all I could see was a faint light at the end of a hallway.

“This better not take long. I have other things to do, and other places to go,” I told Jackson with a bold tone.

He ignored my words and pushed me past the nearest door. It was pitched black and extremely small, I almost felt claustrophobic being there. Soon, I realized that he put me in a closet and shut the door tight behind us. He pushed me against the wall, near the shelf of cleaning products and sponges.

I began to feel nervous as I didn’t like the feeling of being alone with a man in a closet, but I quickly reminded myself that this was Jackson. I knew him well enough that he wouldn’t do anything. He knew my fear more than anyone and wouldn’t repeat the same mistake that he did before.

“Okay, what is this all about? This better not be one of your practical jokes. Those are one of my pet peeves,” I warned him as he reached for the light switch so we could see each other better.

Without a word, he pushed my hair to the side, lifted my chin and aimed his lips for my neck right about my color bone. He began to kiss it gently.

“Um. No,” I told him, making it clear that I disapproved of this.

Jackson raised an eyebrow and looked at me.

“Hey, do you know how much trouble that hickey you gave me caused? As much as my stylist tried to hide it with makeup, it still made the news if you remember correctly,” he fought back.

“Sorry, I didn’t follow your group at all since I went back to LA,” I responded with a sassy tone, coming closer to make myself clear.

“Well I’m telling you now. And may I add that I did as we promised. I forgave Mark, and trust me, it wasn’t easy so you better be thankful that I put up with all of it.

“And I’m thankful that you did forgive him,” I mumbled, smiling genuinely. Jackson frowned.

 “Okay. Shut up and stand still already. I’m gonna give you a big one.”

Although I felt like pushing him away, my body simply remained frozen as he proceeded on on my skin.

“You better stop before I kick you in an unpleasant place.”

“If you don’t stop talking, I’ll give you a second one,” he teased, playing with my shirt with his fingers. I could feel him inhaling my scent. “I missed you.”

I shut my eyes, savoring the moment of having him so close. I slipped my arm around his neck, allowing him to come even closer. Feeling his chest move up and down from the breathing, I smiled.

“Don’t even try to be sweet. It doesn’t suit you.”

Jackson and I always had an interesting way of communicating. Even with the bitter actions and the battle of the words, we both understood the true meaning behind them. Though I was still unsure of how Mark would put up with us as of now, I wanted to do something selfish for once.

Didn't like this ending? Do you want a Mark one? Check out the previous chapter if you didn't already do so.
 

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God Bless You!