A Meeting

“Are you scared already Jinyoung?”  

Jinyoung pushes his sleeves up before dipping his fingers in the face paint. “No. I’m not scared.”

Jaebum leans against the restroom countertop, a playful smile on his handsome face. He’s wearing a dark suit and fake red paint smeared across his face as blood. Jaebum looks very much in the role of a devilish vampire fitting for a private Halloween party hosted by a senior in their company.

“Just admit it, you don’t like haunted houses,” Jaebum says, crossing his arms, “I’ll ask them to let me go in with you this year.”

Frowning, Jinyoung rubs the white face paint over his face rougher. He’s going as a vengeful spirit, complete with long draping white robe and long black haired wig. “You want to videotape me screaming don’t you?”

“I would never!” Jaebum grins and Jinyoung doesn’t believe a word he says.

Jinyoung steps away, observing his reflection to see if he has any skin not covered by the face paint. He turns his head to inspect every angle before deciding he’s ready to put the wig on and head out. “Yeah right, you’re going to be the one screaming like a girl just wait. Weren’t you afraid of the carved pumpkins last year?”

“Hey, I was not expecting that straw man to have a pumpkin head. I thought it was a real person and you did too don’t forget that.” Jaebum moves away from him, walking to the restroom door with an uneasy expression on his face. Jinyoung lets out a laugh, loving to see self-assured Jaebum squirm.

Jinyoung slaps Jaebum on the back, “You screamed like a little girl.”

“Shut up or I’ll make you wish you were never born.” Jaebum opens the door and leads the way to where the party was gathering and drawing names for who would go into the haunted house with whom later. Jinyoung hopes he gets to go in with Jaebum if only to prove him wrong.

The crowd of party goers – friends, acquaintances, and coworkers of Jinyoung – mingling around in groups with drink glasses in hand. After the haunted house trip, the real excitement will happen when the alcohol flows and the DJ begins to play dance music. The fog machine churning out smoky fog makes the main hall of the party room eerie, aided by the dark room and minimal lighting. Jinyoung follows Jaebum across the hall where their company superior the party’s host is mingling with the other guests.

Before they make it to the gather crowd, a good friend of theirs dressed as an undead zombie in a colorful hanbok passes them the bowl of names. Jinyoung fixes the top of his white robe before picking a name out. The slip of paper is blank meaning Jinyoung has to go it alone. Damn it all.

“Who’d you get?” Jinyoung turns to Jinyoung, hoping he got something equally as bad.

Jaebum shows him his slip, grinning ear to ear, “Suzy.”

“You lucky bastard I got a blank.”

Jaebum laughs at him, putting his hand on Jinyoung’s shoulder as a form of false comfort. “That . Want me to go with you?” A newfound bravado sweeps through Jinyoung, he knows there isn’t really anything to be afraid of in a haunted house. Not at his age at least.

“No-” A wolves howl plays back on the speakers amidst the spooky back track of the party hall. Jinyoung jumps, causing Jaebum to shake him around by the shoulder teasingly.

“You sure?”

“Aw screw you hyung.”

“This is my house. I’m still in the process of moving in, but make yourself at home.” Jinyoung waits for Mark to enter the house before shutting the front door. A few steps in and Mark stops and turns around in a slow circle.

The walls could use a fresh coat of paint, but Jinyoung hasn’t decided what colors he wants for the remodel. His living room furniture consists of a new brown couch and chairs he had shipped in from Seoul. Unpacked boxes of his extra things lay where he left them when he moved in a few days ago.

So what if he’s been busy relaxing. He only has so much freedom left before he needs to go back to work.

Jinyoung watches Mark take in the house, head swiveling from side to side and rubbing his hands together. The room seems smaller with the two of them in it, cozier and less empty. Jinyoung isn’t used to being alone out here. In Seoul, people always surround him, but here in the country it takes him ten minutes to bike to the nearest house. Twenty minutes to bike to the town center.

Clapping his hands, Jinyoung remembers what they came inside for. “The shower. It’s right through here.” He slips out of his shoes and passes by Mark, who is standing very still. Crossing the room, Jinyoung notices Mark isn’t following him. “Hey Mark, this way.” He gestures with his hand.

Straightening up, Mark walks towards him with light steps. “Jjjjiiiii…Jjjii…jiiii.” The sounds come out in short stutters, broken and out of place. “Nnnyy.” He’s attempting to say something, but Jinyoung isn’t sure what.

Jinyoung hesitates to speak. “Jiny? My name is Jinyoung.” He takes a step forward, Mark lingering too close for comfort now that he has crossed the living room. “The bathroom is right in here.” Jinyoung moves away to open the bathroom door.

A hand touches his elbow, startling Jinyoung.

“Ttthh…nk…oo,” Mark says, sounds slurring together into a phrase Jinyoung recognizes.

Taken aback, Jinyoung feels embarrassed. Mark’s sincerity seems genuine for someone who can barely talk the words to say thank you. It is more than some people who can talk can do. Flustered, Jinyoung grips the door handle harder.

“Y-your welcome.”

Mark’s condition is contagious; now he’s stuttering too.

Mark’s shirt lands on the floor where Jinyoung flings it using only his fingertips. His pants are another story, and Jinyoung’s not about the help Mark take those off too.

“Here’s the showerhead, and here’s a bucket and rag. Make sure to use plenty of soap.” Jinyoung puts the body wash in Mark’s hand. “I’ll get you something to wear.” Jinyoung has plenty of clothes that he doesn’t need or wear and Mark looks to be about the same size as him.

The house Jinyoung bought is old. Instead of having a tub and shower, its bathroom has a drain in the tile and a movable showerhead. He has to be careful not to spray everything inside when it’s time to bathe. The mildew stains are gone from the walls, but it’s best to crack a window open if even the smallest amount of steam will be made.

“So you should be good. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Mark stares up at him with wide eyes and an expressionless face. Then, he purses his lips before drawing out a deep grunt from the back of his throat. “Nnnnn.”

“I’ll be right back,” Jinyoung repeats, backing up to the door. “Get started.”

Jinyoung slips out of the room to give Mark some privacy, the sound of Mark trying to speak another word filtering through the wood. He closes the door behind him – creaking all the way – and walks the short distance to his bedroom.

Stepping inside, Jinyoung leaves the door open and heads straight to the built-in cabinet. His unpacked clothing lay inside in heaps of half folded half unfolded piles. He picks through shirts and pants – most of them too fancy – for a training suit, or a suitable outfit that he’s not going to miss anytime soon. After sorting through, he chooses something easy, a simple pair of grey sweatpants and a white shirt.

Jinyoung likes fashion; he likes to match his clothing and shop for new trends. To be honest, he could clothe Mark in anything since he hasn’t worn most of these clothes for two years. But after wearing a uniform all the time, everything he owns is a luxury even if it’s two years old.

He closes the closet and heads back to the bathroom, standing outside the door in a moment of indecision. What if Mark is already? The level of embarrassment that will occur between the two of them would be mortifying. Then again, Mark doesn’t seem to quite understand human interaction.

Mark’s skittish for someone who appears to be about his same age. Though Jinyoung can’t be sure how old he really is.

His plans is to leave the clothes inside the bathroom with Mark, cracking the door open a slit and tossing them inside. Before entering the bathroom, Jinyoung knocks on the door – he doesn’t hear water running – to get Mark’s attention. “Hey Mark, I brought you something to wear when you’re done.” The last thing he needs is for Mark to put on his set of dirty clothes again and ruin the attempts Jinyoung is making at helping out.

Best to throw those old clothes straight in the trash.

Again there’s no response to his knocking.

He knocks louder, “Mark? I’m coming in.” Slowly, Jinyoung opens the door, averting his eyes to the tile floor. “Are you doing okay?”

Jinyoung dares to glance at Mark and break his decision to give Mark privacy. He finds Mark right where he left him, sitting on the floor in front of bucket Jinyoung had filled with warm water for him earlier. The shampoo bottle is lying on the floor unopened along with the movable showerhead. Mark appears to be fascinated by the water, his hands on either side of the bucket.

“Do you need something else?” Jinyoung sets the clothes down near the door. “Why aren’t you cleaning up with the soap? I got you shampoo.”

Mark lifts his head and holds his hands out, water droplets falling from his fingertips. He points with outstretched hands towards Jinyoung. “Nnnnnnmmn.”

“What? I don’t get what nnn-mm-n means sorry,” Jinyoung says, shrugging his shoulders. “Okay here, let’s use the water and soap together.” He steps forward and picks up the shampoo bottle, flipping open the tab with his thumb. “Like this.” Jinyoung takes Mark’s hand, holding his arm by the wrist. He squeezes a glob of shampoo into Mark’s palm.

Jinyoung pulls away, “There’s the shampoo, get yourself wet, and rub it into your hair.”

Mark closes his hand into a fist, strange-clawed nails resting against his palm, squishing the shampoo out the cracks. Jinyoung’s mouth drops open, eyebrows coming together as he watches the shampoo he just squeezed out fall to the floor. He lets out a noise of discontent, but refrains from scolding Mark like he would a young child, or a dog.

A soapy hand reaches up once again towards Jinyoung. “Mmnmn rrrrk.”

“No don’t show me, put it in your hair. In your hair, shampoo goes in your hair.” Jinyoung puts his hands on his hips, “Okay I’ll show you this one time.” He takes off his light track jacket and picks up the showerhead by the cord. In the next few minutes, things were bound to get messy.

Turning on the water, a bubble of mischief rises up in Jinyoung while he wields the showerhead wand. “Mark, I don’t know where you come from, but you’re not leaving this room dirty.”

He blasts Mark with the showerhead on full spray. Mark shields his head with his hands, shaking his hair from side to side as Jinyoung drenches him.

The room smells suspiciously like wet dog.

Toweling off Mark’s hair, Jinyoung’s mind wanders while he puts the fact he’s going to have to rise off the dirt and mud on the tile floor to the back of his mind. The mess of hair under the towel is so scraggly only a scissors could fix the problem Jinyoung tried to shampoo.

Mark sneezes, and Jinyoung remembers that he’s still – except for a towel over his waist – and shivering without the warm water.

“Oh sorry Mark, you should get dressed.” Jinyoung drops the towel on the floor and picks up the clothes that are somehow still dry by the bathroom door.

Mark stand ups and the towel over his legs and hips falls to the ground leaving him completely . Eyes widening, Jinyoung whips his head away and holds the clothes out in front of him as a shield. Looking anywhere but Mark’s skinny lean body out of courtesy, not because he’s embarrassed of .

He’s been in the army. There’s a lot where that comes from.

“Here – put these on.” Jinyoung shoves the clothes at Mark’s chest. “Come out when you’re done.” He smiles, uncomfortable and ready to flee the room. “Okay?”

Mark nods his head and Jinyoung heaves a sigh of relief. He takes the clothes from Jinyoung’s hands with a gentle touch, giving Jinyoung the largest smile he’s seen on Mark yet.

Jinyoung runs into the doorframe on his way out.
 

Seeing as it’s the middle of the afternoon, Jinyoung doesn’t expect Mark to stay long. Not after scrubbing him until his skin is fresh and pink, or hacking away at his matted up hair with a pair of scissors. Now he smells like the fresh scent of Jinyoung’s shampoo and looks like he got into a fight with a vacuum cleaner that resulted in the strangest haircut Jinyoung’s ever seen.

There’s a reason Jinyoung leaves the hair cutting to the professionals.

Though surprisingly enough, there’s a good-looking man under all those layers of dirt. With a little nudge in the right direction Mark could even be a popular guy. He has a very earnest youthful face, which contradicts the overgrown fingernails Jinyoung hasn’t taken clippers to yet.

Jinyoung opens the living room window to let in some fresh summer air. In no time, Mark is right on his heels behind him as he has been since leaving the bathroom. The action is cute and Jinyoung has to admit he’s already fallen for Mark’s cumbersome charm. How can he kick a man out that doesn’t even understand how a toilet works?

He turns to face Mark and ends up nearly bumping noses with him because of Mark leaning in at the same moment. Jerking back, Jinyoung pushes Mark away by the chest. Mark tilts his head in response, scratching behind his ear at the same time.

He’s like a puppy. A giant man-child sized puppy. Just how did he come to be wondering around in the countryside? Here he is standing in Jinyoung’s living room, stepping on his own feet, keeping his head down, hunching over like he’s trying to make himself smaller than he is.

Jinyoung looks Mark straight in the eyes, “Mark, where do you come from?”

Shying away, Mark looks past him, avoiding his eyesight.

“Where do you live Mark? Is it around here? Someone might be missing you right now.”

Mark raises his hand and points past Jinyoung’s shoulder in the direction of the window behind them. Jinyoung turns to look, but all he sees is the same picture he sees every time he looks out the window: the road to town, his neighbor’s farmland, the side of the creepy shed, and his front lawn.

“In that direction?” Jinyoung squints, “Damn…that’s a lot of ground to cover. You have an address?” Stupid Jinyoung if he’s homeless he doesn’t have an address. Jinyoung hits his forehead with the heel of his hand at his own idiocy.

Frowning, Mark shakes his head from side to side. He waves his hand in the air in the same direction. “Shhh…shhh.”

Jinyoung slowly follows the direction of Mark’s pointed finger out the window and laughs at the thought of Mark meaning the shed.

“The shed?” This is ridiculous. It’s so dumb it’s beyond ridiculous and plain stupid.

Sure enough, Mark smiles and hops on his feet. “Shh..ed.” He clears his throat. “Shed,” he says with perfect pronunciation, voice deep and with a hint of an accent. “Live shed.”

Jinyoung blinks, and drops his long trained Seoul accent.

“You’re messing with me. That’s very funny Mark.”

Mark perks up and stands to his full height, shoulders back and chin up. He seems to be glowing if that were possible. “I live shed,” he says with confidence, and brings his hand back to point his thumb at his chest. “My home.” He smiles, giving Jinyoung a close up view of Mark’s pointy eyeteeth. The teeth wouldn’t be so weird if it weren’t for the fact that there is something wagging behind Mark’s back. Is that a tail?

Jinyoung’s mouth drops open and whatever he’s planning to say dies on his tongue. Is that a ing tail; is that another set of ears on his head? His heart palpitates in his chest while he stands frozen with his mouth open. Is this the part where he gets murdered?

Mark lowers his head, “I good?” The set of ears he’s grown on the top of his head lower closer to the mop of badly cut hair sticking out in every so direction.

Floored, Jinyoung takes a step back, his instincts telling him to get the hell out of here. People do not grow a tail and ears in real life and believe that is a normal thing. I’m never going to drink again, he thinks.

“Good?” Mark repeats, lifting his head and tilting it to the side. Suddenly, Mark’s strange mannerisms are clear to Jinyoung, but he can’t think much past the demon creature advancing on him. Mark bites his bottom lip, teeth appearing sharper than Jinyoung is comfortable with digging into flesh. “No good?”

Jinyoung keeps stepping back until the back of his legs meet with his couch causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards, hand grabbing the top of the couch cushion. “You-you-you.”

Mark pouts, kneeling down and bowing his head. “No good.” He says it as if it’s the end of the world.

Swallowing, Jinyoung slides down the couch, hitting the cushion, and with a shaky hand pats the top of Mark’s head. Mark’s second set of ears perks straight up, making Jinyoung jerk his hand away. In response, Mark raises his head up in what Jinyoung assumes is reaching for approval.

Oh what the hell, Jinyoung’s always wanted a dog.

He smiles, lips pressing together tight, and pats Mark’s head for a second time. His hair feels coarse as it was earlier, but fluffier now that it has dried.

“Mark is good.”

Mark lifts his head, dark eyes staring straight into Jinyoung’s with a strength and depth that unsettles him. “I good.” His top lip curls back to reveal his set of white pointed teeth.

He is no dog; he is a wolf.