Jinyoung took one look at his mother’s confused expression, and then at the open door.

“Don’t worry, omma!” He leapt over the toppled stool and made a sprint to the main door, shouting to his mother as his body uncontrollably gravitated towards the escaped red head like a magnet. He would worry about his mum later. Now, Mark was of utmost importance.

The red head gave him a great shock when he ran away, out of the blue. It wasn’t like Mark at all to not excuse himself if he had to leave, let alone kick a stool over without apologising profusely. It was almost as if his soul was controlled by someone other than himself.

Jinyoung had no idea what had gotten into Mark, but it was obviously not a good thing. As he passed the corner of the street and saw nothing but endless rows of whitewashed walls, he panicked.

How am I supposed to find Mark?

Numb from breathlessness, he combed through the dull streets in hopes of spotting a flash of Mark’s bright red hair. He silently counted the unit numbers as he ran down the row of houses, getting more desperate as the numbers get larger.

Where are you, Mark?

Row by row, unit by unit, Jinyoung ran, his vision beginning to blur as more numbers bombarded him. He was getting tired; he could feel his calf muscles crying and neither could his heart keep up any longer. His large strides gradually reduced to desperate small steps.

He felt pathetic. He almost made up with Mark and was overjoyed at the fact that they would be spending a lot more time together, then he lost him again. He couldn’t help but feel guilty for Mark’s behaviour.

I must have done something wrong, again. Ugh, Jinyoung.

Mother Nature seemed to have agreed with him, lashing at him and slapping him with a sudden pour of rain. In no time at all, Jinyoung was drenched from head to toe. As the sun backed away for the angry clouds, the surroundings darkened even more as they get washed with rain, pulling him towards the darkness.

The rain droplets trickled down his face, resembling tears, as he buckled his knees and collapsed onto a bench.

Why?

That was a question nobody, except Mark, could answer. He let his eyelids fall, shutting his eyes while he focused on the sound of the wind rustling the tree leaves and the raindrops splashing onto the ground. He let the sounds infuse with his thoughts in an attempt to distract him from them, drowning his unexplainable worry and confusion in the heavy downpour.

There was something inconsistent about the cacophony of sounds. Jinyoung thought he heard someone’s hitched breaths. Startled, he spun around to survey his surroundings. To his surprise, he caught a glimpse of red hair peeking out from behind the tree. Immediately, like a reflex, he rushed over to the boy.

There he was, crouched on the damp grass, his skinny frame shivering against his thighs as he wrapped his pale arms around his knees, whimpering.

Jinyoung was crushed. He wasn’t directly affected, but seeing Mark in this delirious state crushed him. Mark looked so fragile, as though he could break and fall apart as soon as another raindrop falls on him. Jinyoung never felt like he needed to take care of someone this badly in his life.

Carefully, Jinyoung approached the boy. Voice strung with concern, he touched the red head’s shoulder lightly. “Mark?”

He shuddered and his whimpers escalated into great sobs wracking his entire body. Jinyoung cowered slightly.

“Hey… it’s alright…” he attempted to comfort. “What happened?”

“Jinyoung…” Mark choked, his voice cracking. Jinyoung felt a lump in his throat as he watched Mark’s pained expression, eyes watering behind his dripping wet hair. Then, all of a sudden, the red head launched himself onto Jinyoung, wrapping his arms around his torso. His hands gripped tightly at the back of Jinyoung’s shirt as he buried his tear-stained face and cried into the shocked boy’s shoulder.

Jinyoung’s eyes widened as he registered what just happened: Mark was in his arms. He could feel his heart beating faster than usual but he brushed it off and focused on the boy latched onto him. Mark’s skin was cold as ice and he was shaking.

What happened? Oh god. Jinyoung’s chest tightened as he physically felt Mark crying against him, but willed himself to stay strong. I cannot cry. For the sake of Mark, I cannot and I won’t cry. He raised his hand slowly and caressed the back of the boy’s neck, pulling him closer to his chest to provide some form of comfort.

~~~~~

Mark knew his crying would affect Jinyoung and he genuinely wanted to stop, but he had no say over his emotions and his tears just took over. Behind his bloodshot, teary eyes and fuzzy vision, his mind was clear.

He did not experience it, nor did he witness it, but he could recall it so vividly, it was as if he was present during the accident. He remembered being engrossed with playing with his toys on the warm carpet of his living room, fascinated by how the wheels of his toy cars rotated and how they made engine noises as he rolled them across the floor. He soon lost interest and crawled his way to the toy box, to pick up a toy plane. His young heart was leaping with joy as he hopped up, soaring and swooping the plane with his hands.

Just as he was delighted posing as an omniscient being controlling the plane, the door burst open. He remembered clearly, how his thoughts were being interrupted as he watched Mr Park running towards him, then hugging him, causing him to drop the plane. He remembered how Mr Park’s large hands patted his back. He remembered how when he pulled away, he saw tears flowing down the man’s cheeks.

“Omma and appa… they left. It’s now the two of us.” Mr Park had told Mark between his uneven breaths. It wasn’t until a few days later that Mark realised that his parents leaving, as Mr Park claimed, was true. Also, it was permanent.

Once reality set it, Mark found himself crying to sleep every single night, then waking up with a jerk, with swollen eyes and a tear-stained face. His nightmares were horrifying, each time portraying a different scene of a plane flying in the clear blue skies, but the ending was never good. He dreamt of every horror story possible: a giant fireball blasting through the cabins after an explosion, the titanium vehicle ripping into pieces and disintegrating in mid-air, or it crashing into the tall and ruthless mountains. He never knew what exactly happened; Mr Park refused to tell him.

It didn’t matter anymore. It was terrible enough to be haunted by images of his own imagination, which he hoped were untrue, such as his parents’ frightened expressions and them apologising to him for leaving him alone, their strangled screams…

Mark tightened his arms around Jinyoung. In Jinyoung’s arms he felt safe and his anxiety disappeared like rain on summer earth. However, the rain was never ending; his embrace could not save Mark from his grief. He let himself tear silently as he felt Jinyoung’s fingers his hair and neck, as if the repeated action could relieve a bit of tension.

“Markie…” Jinyoung whispered, and Mark wiped the tears from his face and looked up at Jinyoung’s equally pained expression. “It’s raining, we might fall sick if we don’t get to a sheltered area.”

Mark said nothing and allowed Jinyoung to help him to one of the unoccupied apartments to seek shelter. It was not a pleasant place, paint was peeling off from the walls and they had to settle on the floor due to the lack of furniture. For a few minutes, the two boys just sat next to each other in silence, with Jinyoung’s arm wrapped protectively around Mark’s shoulder.

“Do you want to share? Tell me what happened.” Jinyoung said. Mark jumped a little from the sudden voice, turning to see Jinyoung looking into his eyes sincerely.

He was exhausted. He was tired of having to bear the pain alone. Mr Park, just like him, avoided the topic whenever they were conversing. It did save Mark from breaking down in front of him, but nevertheless, he broke down once in a while when he was alone in his room. It would be nice to spill his sorrows to someone sometimes.

Because no one had told Mark to accept what happened and move on, he didn’t. Even if someone had done so, he was almost certain that he could never really let go of the past. It wasn’t like losing a physical possession. He lost his family, and it was like losing part of himself – a part he would never be able to replace.

“Did I do something wrong again?” Jinyoung questioned, with a hint of fear. Mark sighed. Jinyoung was genuinely worried for him and it would be selfish of him not to explain.

“No,” Mark croaked, weary from all that crying from before. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for making you worry, Jinyoung ah. It’s just… it’s something personal.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Jinyoung offered when he saw the hesitation in Mark’s eyes. The red head, however, shook his head in response.

“It’s okay. I can tell you. My parents… they are gone.” Mark knew he could cry any moment now, but he did not. Perhaps his tear glands dried long ago. Now, he just felt empty and he needed someone to fill up the space in his heart. “A plane crash when I was eight.”

I said it.

Knowing it was one thing, but saying it made it feel so real. Previously, there were still times when Mark refused to admit that his parents were never coming back to him, yet once he said it out loud, he had no choice but to admit it was the harsh truth.

Mark managed to tell the story between his woeful sniffles. One word led to the next, and each sentence Mark poured, he felt better.

~~~~~

Jinyoung began to rub Mark’s back in slow circles as he digested his words. The red head in front of him looked so weak and vulnerable as he talked about his life.

It must be hard, Jinyoung thought as he stared into Mark’s eyes. He always knew that the boy had handsome features, but it was only now that he realised how soulful his eyes were. They told a story on their own; it was almost as if Jinyoung could read the emotions rippling in Mark just from his eyes. These emotions were all sad emotions.

“I don’t know what to do with my life. I don’t have anyone to rely on. I… I have no family and I’m alone,” Mark mumbled. “I’m scared, Jinyoung.”

Jinyoung’s heart ached when he heard those words. It was still raining and he was stuck with a pale boy with dripping wet hair who had just confessed his life story to him. The boy was looking at him helplessly and he wanted to assure him and take care of him so badly. He wished he could tell him that he would be able to help him but he knew he couldn’t. He would never be able to replace Mark’s family, no matter how hard he tried. The only thing he could do now was to care for him more, and help him overcome the sad truth.

Jinyoung always thought that it was unfair how his mum had a visual disability and how his father never got to complete his education, which caused them to suffer so much just to struggle to live. Also, he loves his parents so much that he could not imagine life without them. He felt he could understand Mark. If his parents left him like that, he wouldn’t be able to take it too.

He said nothing to Mark at first and simply pulled him into a tight embrace, causing the red head to gasp in surprise. For a long time, they remained in this position, with Jinyoung murmuring “it’s okay” continuously, and Mark closing his eyes in an attempt to find peace in his heart.

~~~~~

The boys shuddered when the gust of wind fought to enter the house as they shut the door. Mark had convinced Jinyoung to stay over at his house to complete the project but in reality, he just wanted Jinyoung’s company. He didn’t like the idea of being alone that night, especially after a fresh recollection of his deceased parents.

“Omo! What were you boys doing in the rain?” Mr Park came frantically scampering to the door with a towel, thinking only Mark came home. Out of courtesy, he handed Jinyoung the towel first before rushing back to the bathroom to get another for Mark.

“Here,” Jinyoung smiled at Mark as he draped the towel over his head, laughing slightly when he saw the shocked expression on Mark’s face. Blushing, Mark smiled back gratefully.

Soon, the two were busily drying themselves up with the fresh towels in Mark’s room.

“Jinyoung ah, you can change into some of my clothes.” Mark offered, opening his wardrobe to reveal a large array of choices. “We should be around the same size, I guess.”

“Alright, thanks Markie!”

Jinyoung did it again. He called him Markie. His heart fluttered uncontrollably and he looked away shyly. “Help… help yourself.” With that, he hurriedly grabbed his dry clothing and shut himself in the bathroom to change.

Jinyoung chuckled as he watched Mark’s flustered actions. He’s so cute. Running his hand across the fabrics in the wardrobe, he admired the great sense of fashion the boy had. He had always been interested in clothes too, just that he never had the luxury to spend on them.

Picking a simple cotton shirt and loose track pants, Jinyoung waited for his turn to use the bathroom. He casually adjusted his damp pants and groaned when he felt that his underwear was also soaked with rainwater, so wet that it clung onto his skin like glue.

Damn it. He cussed to himself. Of all days, it has to be the first day I sleep over at Mark’s house.

When Mark emerged from the bathroom in his sleepwear, Jinyoung’s first thought was how much younger Mark looked in casual clothing and how cute it was. Mark threw the wet clothes into the laundry basket, then looked at Jinyoung questioningly at the raven-haired boy who was rooted to the floor, embarrassed. “Is there a problem, Jinyoung?”

“Uhm…” Jinyoung cleared his throat and stuttered. It’s now or never. “Do you mind uh… lending me your… underwear?” , he’s looking at me like I’m weird. “Because you know, it was raining and we were in the rain and we were drenched and I thought only my outer clothes would be wet but I guess not because my underwear is also wet and you know I have to change into dry–”

“Sure, Jinyoung.” Mark almost laughed out loud when Jinyoung clarified his simple request with a long string of words all in one breath. It was his first time seeing Jinyoung being embarrassed and he liked it. He felt less vulnerable, knowing Jinyoung had this side which was similar to him. 

“Okay thanks!” Jinyoung grabbed a pair of underwear before hiding in the bathroom, leaving a smiling Mark behind.

~~~~~

It was twelve midnight. The sweet-smelling rain-washed darkness seeped into the room and made Mark yawn as he tilted his head. Jinyoung looked over at the sleepy boy and grinned. He was still at the table with Mark’s laptop, hastily typing away when the red head gave up on the project long ago. He had been rolling around in bed since an hour ago. Knowing what Mark had been through, Jinyoung was more than willing to do most of the work for him.

“You tired, Mark?” Jinyoung asked while he typed. He caught a glimpse of a nodding head from the reflection of the laptop screen, and could not help but smile.

He is seriously cute.

“Jinyoung ah, come sleep with me.” Mark said softly, snuggling into the duvet of his big bed before he turned to look at the hardworking Jinyoung.

“I’m almost done, Markie. You can sleep first if you want!”

“Let’s just complete it tomorrow. I’m tired, let’s sleep…” He yawned again, rubbing his bleary eyes as he buried his face in the pillow.

“I said I’m almost done, Mark. And I said you can sleep first!” Jinyoung repeated himself, determined to complete the last few paragraphs of their report before he went to sleep.

“But… I don’t want to sleep alone…” Mark whined. Jinyoung stopped typing and he swivelled the chair around to come face to face with the red head pouting at him with puppy dog eyes. His facial expression softened and he felt his stubbornness backing away. He sighed in defeat.

Mark grinned like a three-year-old when he saw Jinyoung shutting the laptop and walking towards him. The raven-haired boy looked around the room, then looked under the bed as though he was searching for something.

“What are you looking for, Jinyoung?”

“A mattress.” He replied nonchalantly, and Mark threw him a perplexed look.

“What mattress? Can’t you see a bed here?” He said, matter-of-factly, pointing at the bed he was lying on to emphasise his point.

It was Jinyoung’s turn to be confused. “But… you’re sleeping on it.” He stated, looking at Mark and the boy simply gave him a face that read “and so?” Jinyoung gulped. “You mean… you don’t mind sharing a bed with me?”

“Of course, does it matter?” Mark was genuinely confused. He did not know that it would be awkward for normal friends to share a bed, especially since they’d only known each other for a month or so and it was Jinyoung’s first sleepover. It didn’t matter to him. Patting the space beside him, he beckoned for Jinyoung to come.

“Okay…” Jinyoung agreed. He walked to the door to switch of the lights before going to bed but Mark stopped him. “Don’t, Jinyoung… I can’t sleep with the lights off…”  

Jinyoung’s eyes turned into crescent moons and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes appear. It was a rough day but he was glad Mark was back to normal now. He slipped under the blanket beside Mark and laid stiffly, boring his eyes into the ceiling. He tried to breathe as normally as he could but to no avail; he could not help but feel a bit nervous sleeping beside Mark, because he’d never shared a bed with anyone, let alone an attractive person like Mark.

The bed creaked slightly as Mark turned to face Jinyoung. “Jinyoung ah, could you sing a song?” He asked while his eyelids were already falling. Jinyoung wanted to protest violently but changed his mind when he saw the baby-like face in front of him. Mark’s face was angelic up close, so flawless that Jinyoung had to restrain himself from touching it. The tear lines however, were visible and it made him look tired and fragile, probably from his habit of crying to sleep since young.

Poor boy. Jinyoung gave in in a matter of seconds and opened his mouth to begin to sing, his voice soft and gentle, yet smooth and clear.

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high

There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue,

And the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true

Jinyoung was looking at the ceiling throughout the song, recalling the day’s events. His voice slowly faded away as he heard Mark’s breathing becoming even.

“Good night, Markie.” Jinyoung whispered, thinking the boy beside him was fast asleep.

To his surprise, a small, sleepy voice answered him. “Thanks Jinyoung, good night…” And Jinyoung broke into a wide smile.

“I liked the other song you sang better…” Mark added. It was almost inaudible, a soft mumble, but Jinyoung caught it, and immediately turned to face Mark, wanting to clarify. But when he looked at the red head, his eyes were closed and his features softened. He breathed softly in Jinyoung’s face and he instantly knew he was asleep.

Jinyoung sighed and smiled, and the two drifted into sweet slumber.

♥♥♥

Hello my dear readers! Here's wishing all of you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!! ^~^ I hope you all had a great holiday! I'm sorry this took so long, but I've been pretty busy this festive season and I kinda had a writer's block for a while... Also, I have bad news for you all. :( School is starting for me and I would be pretty busy so I won't be updating as often. Sigh. 

I will still do my best though! For all my wonderful readers who have showered me with love and all the comments, subs & upvotes! I hope you enjoy this chapter. :):) Your comments will make a great New Year's present for me hehe ^~^

P.s. My heart goes out to the family and friends of passengers on flight QZ8501. I am aware that this chapter mentions a plane crash and I did not intend to put it in... As you all know from my Foreword + Description, Mark's parents in the story were already planned to have perished in the accident so it so happens that this chapter had to come now. I'm so sorry T_T Esp to my Indonesian readers, and Malaysian readers for the terrible flood, stay strong!