Jinyoung looked at the flustered boy in front of him. Something about his tousled red hair made him look really adorable. Then, Jinyoung’s bright eyes trailed to Mark’s odd sock pairing. Tickled by the sight, he gave a small chuckle.

Cute… We meet again, red head.

Jinyoung was strangely happy to see Mark again, and he was overjoyed by the fact that they were going to be classmates now.

Mark had yet to respond to Jinyoung’s outreached hand. Smiling to himself, Jinyoung grabbed the red head’s hand.

“Welcome, new classmate.”

Jinyoung was surprised at how cold and clammy Mark’s hands were. Instinctively, he raised his other hand and wrapped his palms around the paler pair of hands, just like how his mother would do when she speaks to him, to share some of his warmth with his new friend.

When Mark felt Jinyoung’s lukewarm hands, he stunned momentarily and held his breath. Every touch resembled searing heat, which crept up Mark’s neck, then his cheeks that uncontrollably flushed a deep red.  

Mark gulped as Jinyoung flashed an even wider smile.

“You’re so cute.”

He… he said I’m… I’m cute?

Mark had not much recollection of everything that happened in the next few seconds. It felt like the world was whirling around him and the colours of the classroom blurred past him as he felt somebody pulling him by the hand, dragging his feet along the soft carpet. It reminded him of the fleeting dream he had last night, feet dragging along the sand, slowly engulfed by the waves, into a binding whirlpool of no return.

Mark knew that whatever emotions he was feeling – thumping heart, churning stomach, tingly sensations – were not going to be easy to rid of.

~~~~~

Jinyoung brought Mark to the empty seat beside his.

“Is this your first day of school?”

Mark nodded shyly, averting his eyes from Jinyoung’s bold gaze.

“You must be quite excited! JYP University is awesome! Its facilities and activities are just too good to be true and…”

“Mark?”

Jinyoung wondered if Mark ever paid attention to him speaking. The red head always seemed to be in a daze, stuck in his own world, his eyes often staring blankly at his face.

“Do I have dirt on my face? Why do you keep staring at me?” Jinyoung shook Mark, amused.

“Huh? Oh… Jin… Jinyoung? Wha…at?”

Jinyoung shook his head and laughed to himself. The boy had stuttered more than Jinyoung had in his entire life, despite their short conversations. He wanted to talk more to Mark but the bell rang and other students were slowly streaming in. The teacher strutted in, pushed her gold-rimmed glasses and surveyed the class; the chatter ceased. It was time for class.

~~~~~

The first thirty minutes was hell for Mark. The teacher’s high-pitched voice and supersonic speed made it impossible for him to understand much. One reason could be because he was used to the comfortable lesson speed back when he was home-schooled; another reason was that Jinyoung was all over his mind.

The image of Jinyoung busking on the streets remained etched in Mark’s mind. The creases on his forehead deepened as he furrowed his eyebrows, staring intently at Jinyoung, who seemed to be listening to the lecture in rapt attention. He pursed his lips and contemplated if Jinyoung remembered him from that day.

He couldn’t possibly remember me, could he? It was just a brief meeting. It was purely coincidence…

Mark secretly hoped that Jinyoung remembered him, and he wished it was a sign of fate. However, another part of him was still embarrassed by his sheepish escape from their very first conversation and did not want Jinyoung to remember. 

Jinyoung noticed that Mark had been staring at him throughout the lesson. He recalled their first meeting, when Mark stood alone in front of him even when the crowd dispersed. Jinyoung had memorised how the wind swept the soft, red hair away from his flawless face, and how he looked so precious with his dazed expression and lips slightly parted. He had felt a strong urge to take care of Mark, for he resembled a broken angel, both back then and now.

The air-conditioner seemed to get stronger by the minute. The cold air was tolerable when Mark first stepped into the classroom, but his lack of physical movement from sitting at his seat for almost an hour had taken its toll on his comfort.

Cold at his face and crept under his clothes, spreading across his skin like the lacy tide on a frigid winter beach. Gently chattering his teeth, Mark crossed his arms and gripped himself tighter, hoping to find some warmth from his almost non-existent body heat.

Ugh. I should have remembered to grab my jacket before I left home.

He reprimanded himself silently, making a note to reflect on his choice of clothing – first the socks, then the lack of outerwear. He also blamed himself for not taking care of his health for the past ten years. Heaving a loud sigh, he shivered more vigorously and shook his knees in vain.

Jinyoung heard Mark’s sigh, his ears catching a slight waver in his breath. Upon turning to his side, he laid eyes on a shivering boy, his lips as pale as his already colourless face. Jinyoung’s heart fell, suddenly feeling immensely worried for Mark.

Without hesitation, he removed his hoodie from himself and held Mark at his shoulders, turning the boy to face him.

Jinyoung gingerly lifted Mark’s stiff arms and helped him into his hoodie. Mark could only look fixedly at the raven-haired boy’s worried expression and him brooding over how cool his skin felt.  Rubbing Mark’s arms with his palms as though it would heat up the poor boy, Jinyoung smiled lightly and patted Mark’s hand.

Mark was speechless. For the umpteenth time, his heart raced.

Mark caught a whiff of Jinyoung’s scent – a fine mix of light washing powder and a slight vanilla aroma – from the hoodie that was just put on him by warm hands. He instantly felt warmer, engulfed in the warmth of Jinyoung’s care and concern. Snuggling deeper into the hoodie, he took another deep breath and let himself be embraced in Jinyoung’s fragrance.

Mark never felt so loved for a long time.  Even though Jinyoung was barely an acquaintance, he gave Mark a sense of comfort he had lost ever since his loss of his parents. He felt safe and he felt happy.

Sneaking a peek at a beaming Jinyoung, Mark looked down bashfully and his face lit up with a smile.

It was his first genuine smile in twelve full years, and even he shocked himself with how his heart swelled with happiness.

By his side, Jinyoung observed how the alluring smile formed on the red head’s face.

Wow.

Jinyoung could not help but be enthralled by the new expression on Mark’s face. He was pretty enough with that usual perplexed and anxious face; he was beautiful, even stunning, with that smile.

“Your teeth are cute, and your smile is beautiful. You should smile more, Mark.”

Jinyoung had to speak his mind. Helping others usually made Jinyoung pleased and contented, but helping Mark gave him utmost bliss. He liked how Mark’s smile brightened the entire room, and he wanted that to appear more often.

The teacher closed her book with a loud clap and just then, the dismissal bell rang, and the entire class’ faces lit up. Mark was saved from his loss of words, and took the opportunity to rise from his seat and walk away from Jinyoung.

He wanted to thank Jinyoung greatly but for some reason, he could not bear to look at Jinyoung for more than a second or his complicated emotions would overwhelm him. Jinyoung brought joy to Mark, and he badly yearned for Jinyoung to stay with him but he did not know how to cope with his constant state of panic.

Jinyoung followed Mark closely after sweeping his belongings into his bag.

“Hey Mark!”

Mark stopped in his tracks and his heart skipped a beat.

“Um… Do you want to grab something to eat with me? I mean, if you have a break now.”

Mark indeed had a break. He was seriously contemplating whether to accept Jinyoung’s offer when a familiar figure jogged towards them – JB.

“Jinyoung ah! Hurry up! I don’t want to spend time queuing for food. I’m starving!” JB beckoned Jinyoung to wear his sneakers.

Jinyoung searched Mark’s face for an answer to his offer. To his disappointment, Mark shook his head. “It’s okay, you go ahead with JB. I uh… I have something to do.”

“Oh! So I guess I will see you around?” Jinyoung’s voice was forlorn. He dearly wanted to spend more time with Mark but Mark did not seem to be interested. Mark, on the other hand, was dying to say yes but any trace of confidence Mark had disappeared into thin air when JB appeared, as he felt that he was probably not so important and Jinyoung merely asked out of courtesy.

Lowering his eyes, Mark proceeded to take off the hoodie reluctantly to return it to Jinyoung. To his astonishment, Jinyoung stopped him and adjusted the hoodie on Mark. Perplexed, Mark gave a questioning look to Jinyoung and he simply pointed at the sky, which was filled with dark clouds looming ahead like a heavy curtain.

“Keep it, Mark. You’ll need it more than me. See you around!”

As Jinyoung and JB sauntered to the cafeteria, Mark caught a glimpse of Jinyoung spinning around and waving to him with a huge grin, before turning again and walking away.

His cheeks turned rosy with happiness.

♥♥♥

Hello dear readers! Mark and Jinyoung's second interaction ^~^ I hope it is good enough and I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. I'm actually not very busy at all because it's the holidays for me right now, but I'm still updating pretty slowly considering how free I am. :( Sorry!! Writing doesn't come naturally to me and I have to rack my brains to think of how to describe the scenes. Thank you once again for all the upvotes, subs and comments! I really appreciate comments and they motivate me to write better so do keep them coming. :):) 

Also, GOT7's comeback teasers distracted me so much from writing... I'm really excited for their comeback, but who isn't? x) Do remember to vote for the boys for MAMA too! I really want to see them win Best New Artist because they really deserve it. GOT7 FIGHTING!