Dearest, Most Wonderful Readers!

Here is a two-part update.

Chapter 32a

Mark looked visibly relieved as he hung up the phone.

"Do they . . . " JinYoung asked nervously.

"No. They don't know anything. I guess your parents haven't called them yet."

JinYoung felt a deep sense of relief. He was glad that his actions hadn't caused any more trouble for Mark. He had wanted to tell his parents about himself a long time ago, but JinYoung had always prevented him, thinking that as soon as they knew, they would disclose the information to his own parents. Once again, in their relationship, there was evidence that his needs had superseded Mark's and Mark had allowed it. He wondered how often this had happened over the years without his even having noticed.

Mark interrupted his thoughts.

"My parents are going to visit my grandparents tomorrow and they want me to go with them."

"Oh," JinYoung said, sadly, feeling the reality of their separation. He had always liked Mark's grandparents. Normally, when he'd gone to see them, JinYoung had always gone with him. But now, under these new circumstances, he was certain that he was not being invited along.

"Do you . . . know what you're going to do?" Mark asked quietly.

"I'm not sure, yet," JinYoung answered.

"It's just that, if you need to, you can stay here for a couple of days while I'm gone. If you need some time to figure out . . . "

"It's okay," JinYoung responded, "I don't want to put you out . . . "

"It's not putting me out," Mark assured him. "I won't be here anyway. It won't be a problem, really." Mark said as he looked at JinYoung. He couldn't help but notice again what sort of state he was in physically. Even if JinYoung had been his worst enemy he couldn't have helped but to pity him. He wanted him to know that before he went back to Jeju, he could just take a couple of days and rest here.

JinYoung just nodded once in answer.

"I'm going to have to make a couple of phone calls. Excuse me," he said as he left JinYoung alone in the living room.

JinYoung slumped down in the chair. He felt very odd. Things between himself and Mark were nothing like he had expected. He thought Mark would throw him out, or maybe stop talking to him altogether or . . .  he wasn't sure what, but this? This was unexpected. He was cold. But, at the same time, he was concerned. But it was a distant concern, like that which one might feel towards a person they didn't know at all.

In the matter of an hour, JinYoung had become all but irrelevant to him.

Mark's grandparents. JinYoung remembered the many times they'd gone there together to visit. Of course, they were careful to conceal their relationship, but being out in the country with a forest nearby and any number of nooks and crannies into which they could sneak, they had still been able to spend moments alone together. Being there together was bliss. He and Mark would help with the garden—something JinYoung never really thought he would like, but Mark's grandfather was so funny and agreeable, it was a pleasure spending the time with him there. They went for walks in the forest. They cooked together. They lay together under the stars after his grandparents had long fallen asleep.

"The stars seem so much brighter. I can always see so many more of them here," JinYoung observed as he and Mark lay side-by-side under the night sky.

Mark rolled over onto his side and propped himself up, so that he could look at JinYoung's face. "I'm glad the moon is so bright tonight, so that I can still see you, even though it's so late," he said.

They gazed into each other's eyes, the love they felt for one another rising and crashing deep within them in wave after wave of emotion. Mark's face was slightly harder to see, since it was set against the background of the sky, but JinYoung's eyes still glided slowly across each feature: his forehead, his eyes, his nose, to his lips. His gaze then swept back up to Mark's eyes as he felt longing fill him. He rose up slowly just as Mark lowered his head towards JinYoung and their lips touched. They kissed lightly and then drew back to look again into each other's eyes. JinYoung's hand rose to trace the side of Mark's face lovingly.

"There's nothing and no one I love more than you, Mark Tuan," he whispered.

Mark reached out to trace JinYoung's face and then ran his fingertips down the side of his neck to his chest. He leaned in and tenderly captured his lover's lips with his own. Slowly his lips massaged JinYoung's, sensuously caressing them with deepening kisses. JinYoung reached up to run his hands through Mark's hair, sliding one down to his mid-back. He held Mark close as their mouths moved together in an increasingly passionate mix of lips and tongues.

That night, under the light of the moon and the stars, they lay with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, hands and kneading each others' skin; bodies pressed close together; their mouths tasting and exploring each other, at first softly, then more powerfully with increasing need. JinYoung, reliving the moment in his mind, closed his eyes and could almost feel the searing heat that had been generated between their bodies as they made love to one another. He recalled everything about Mark: each expression, his taste, and the feel of him every part of him. But underlying the avalanche of beautiful, vivid memories was an ache that gnawed at him as he came to realise that they would never again experience the sweetness of that ecstasy again.

And he knew that he had only himself to blame.

"JinYoung?" Mark called as he re-entered the room.

JinYoung slowly opened his eyes to the sound of his beloved's voice. The voice that he knew would never again speak the words of love that he had spoken to him that night.

"I'm going out. I don't know how late I'll be back. You can sleep in the bed, of course. I'll take the couch," he said.

"Mark, I . . . I'm sorry for being in the way."

"You're not. Just try to get some rest. I probably won't see you 'til tomorrow. Sleep well," he said, and then he put on his jacket and shoes and departed.

JinYoung closed his eyes once again, but this time there were no memories behind them. Only darkness.

He had lost Mark. And there was nothing he could do about it.

*                                *                                *                                *                                *

"With a woman? And without a ? What was he thinking?" HimChan asked in his straightforward way after Mark had finished telling him the story of JinYoung and MiRa.

Mark and HimChan were sitting together overlooking a waterway. They were sharing a bottle of soju in the cold night air, with a warm blanket thrown around them that Mark always kept in the boot of his car.

"Yeah," was all Mark said, as he took another swig of soju.

"But, at least it's all over now. And his parents know everything?" HImChan asked.

Mark nodded.

"Even about him being gay?"

"So he said," Mark replied stiffly.

"What? Don't you believe him?"

Mark turned to face HimChan.

"I don't know what to believe. Maybe he just said it to make me think something had changed. I don't know. Anyway, his parents didn't call mine, so that makes it even harder to believe. I know them, especially his mother. I can't believe she wouldn't call right away. She's the type to think I forced her precious son into something," Mark sneered.

HimChan didn't know JinYoung that well, but from the little he did know, he didn't think that he would make something like that up. Anyway, what would be the use? It was something Mark could easily find out the truth about. And it also seemed to him, according to what he'd heard so far, that JinYoung had only lied when he thought it would serve a specific purpose, that being not hurting Mark or his parents. He didn't seem to HimChan to be an opportunistic liar. But, in his role as a friend, he didn't want to contradict Mark too much. This wasn't the time for it. It was obvious by the way he spoke as he told the story, that Mark was still shocked and in pain. Even if he didn't want to admit it.

"It doesn't matter anyway. It's all over now," Mark said as he once again looked out over the waterway. "Let's change the subject. Have you decided? Are you going to come with me?" he asked.

"To your grandparents? Do you think that's such a good idea, Mark? They don't even know me," HimChan replied.

"Then this will be a perfect opportunity for them to get to know you," Mark responded.

"I don't think it's a good idea . . . " HimChan began.

"Why?"

"For starters, if JinYoung finds out about it, what is he going to think?"

"What is JinYoung going to think? You're kidding, right? Why should I care what he . . . "

" . . . and," added HimChan quickly, being a big believer in 'less said, soonest mended', "what about the café? You're talking about three days without two of the regular managers during some of the busiest, high-traffic times of service."

"Key has recommended both RyeoWook and DaeHyun for management training and I think SungJong is ready, too, so this could be a good chance to test them out as rotating managers."

"Excuse me, Mark, but you must be kidding. 'Trying out' new managers during the day shifts while the day-shift managers are away? That makes a lot of sense," HimChan said sarcastically.

"Okay, it was just a thought."

"Not a very good one," HimChan said smiling.

Mark smiled back.

"I'll ask Key and KwangHee if they want to work a few double-shifts then. I don't think that'll be a problem," Mark suggested. Then, as they sat in silence with only the sound of the water lapping to break through the quiet, his expression slowly became serious as he turned to fully face HimChan. "I don't know exactly what I'll have to shuffle around to get this to work, but if I can get everything figured out, you'll come with me, won't you?" he entreated.

HimChan looked at his friend. He looked wrung out. And anxious. In that moment, he knew he couldn't leave him hanging.

"I still don't understand why you want me to come with you so badly. You'll have your family there, you certainly won't need my company. Grandparents are notorious for spoiling their grandkids. But, that having been said . . . if it's that important to you, you know I'll go with you," HimChan smiled, ruffling Mark's hair.

Mark looked at him earnestly.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you, HimChan."

*                                *                                *                                *                                *

When Mark got home that night, he found JinYoung asleep on the sofa. He had changed for bed, but from the looks of things, he had intended to stay awake until Mark came home. His body wasn't as resolved as his mind, it seemed.

Mark slid an arm each under JinYoung's back and thighs and scooped him up. He carried him to the bedroom and slipped him carefully into bed. Once he'd tucked him in and retrieved his own pyjamas along with clothes for the following day, he turned to JinYoung's slumbering form one last time to say a quiet, "good-night" before he closed the bedroom door behind him.     

*                                *                                *                                *                                *

"Are you sure JinYoung's going to be alright alone?" HimChan asked as Mark drove along the highway to his grandparents' house. He'd worked his entire shift, only leaving afterwards. Both Key and KwangHee had agreed to work double shifts, so the café was covered. They also both agreed to put DaeHyun, RyeoWook and SungJong through their paces to assess their managerial potential. So, HimChan was able to go with Mark without a problem.

Well, not as far as either of them knew at the time.

"YoungJae and JB were in the kitchen making dinner with him when I went to pick up my bag. I think rather than being alone, there'll be a queue forming to see who gets to spend time with him next. He's pretty popular," Mark replied.

"Has he told you what his plans are?"

"No. And to be honest, it's none of my business. Escape should still be doing well, so I guess after catching up with friends for a couple of days, he'll be heading back there," Mark said.

"You don't think he'll stay in Seoul?" HimChan asked.

"No. Why should he?"

To that, HimChan had no answer.

*                                *                                *                                *                                *

"Hello . . . hello . . . hello . . . " Mark's grandmother repeated as she hugged him, swaying from side to side.

"Hello, Gua-Ma," Mark said, hugging her tightly. Once she released him, he hugged his grandfather, father and then mother in turn.

"Is this your friend?" his grandmother asked.

"Yes, Gua-Ma. This is Kim HimChan."

HimChan then politely introduced himself to everyone, shaking hands and bowing respectfully.

"He's very handsome," Mark's mother observed.

HimChan beamed at the compliment.

"Don't tell him that. His head's big enough as it is," Mark laughed.

HimChan pouted. He loved compliments and Mark's remark was sure to interrupt the flow.

The evening was very enjoyable for everyone. Mark and his family were able to catch up on all the news that was going on in all of their lives and HimChan was a big hit with everyone as he told anecdote after anecdote about daily life in a café. He had a gift: he could make even the most boring situations seem hilarious in the retelling. Mark hadn't recalled his parents or grandparents ever laughing so hard. He smiled as he thought about his decision to ask HimChan to come with him. He was glad he had.

His family asked about his friends from school and he told them everything he thought he could. They were happy to hear about YoungJae's job as a sessions singer and that he was working with JB, but Mark omitted the fact that they were a couple. Also, when he talked about JoKwon, he neglected to include the fact that he was now living happily with his boyfriend SeulOng. HimChan, noticing this, left out one of the juiciest pieces of news currently exciting everyone at the café: that of Key's stalker. But Mark did tell his family about Min and Jia and their adventures in dating. Fully predictable, Mark's parents were hoping that the fortune-teller was right and that both women would be paired off soon. With men, of course.

"And what about Jackson and GaYeon?" Mark's mother asked. "It's been months since the engagement party and we still haven't received an invitation to the wedding."

"I think they're way too busy at the moment to plan a wedding. GaYeon's got some important matches coming up, so it might be a while," Mark explained.

"I don't understand young people these days. Why announce you're getting married if it's going to take you years to do it?" his mother groused.

"I don't think it'll take them years, but right now their schedules are pretty hectic. The only time I really see them regularly is when I go to their centre to work out."

"Anyway, why is GaYeon still competing? How long is she going to keep that up? I thought she wanted to get married? And isn't she getting too old for that?" Mark's mother continued.

"She's won her last few matches, so she seems to be doing okay," Mark responded.

"And what's going on with JinYoung? After what I saw at the engagement party, I thought he and MiRa would be engaged themselves by now," his mother stated.

Before Mark could answer, HimChan quickly jumped in with a tale about the first time Mark took him to train at Centreshock, and how he would never go back.

While his family was still laughing about HimChan's yarn of his experiences there, Mark looked at him and smiled a silent 'thank-you' for helping him avert his mother's disastrous question.

HimChan smiled back in understanding.

Suddenly, Mark was, once again, happy that he'd decided to ask HimChan to come along. He was everything that Mark needed right now.

And he was grateful he was there.

Thank you for reading.

If I made any mistakes regarding what parents, grandparents or grandchildren are called in Taiwanese, please send me a message containing the correct titles and I'll change them.