"I kind of want to see that instead," Jiah pointed to a pink movie poster while Mark and Jackson followed her into the theater. Judging by the endearing look the two attractive actors were giving each other, the film must have been a romance film, something Mark and Jiah had seen lot of in the past week.
     It had been about a month since Mark had decided to live with Jiah once his parents went back home. Life was a lot different afterwards, but at the same time, more joyful and bright.
     Jiah's home had always been one color-- white. But with Mark living with her and Jackson stopping by more than often, the house was filled with different colors. Blue couch pillows, red floral bedsheets, bright posters of Mark and Jackson's favorite rappers and singers, flowery oil paintings in Jiah's room, and even more. Her whole world was now filled with color.
     The other day, the couple was taking a nap together after Mark helped Jiah study. The day before, they had cleaned the house together, playfully hitting each other with towels as they went. If that wasn't enough, they even slept on the same bed together on some days.
     The two were deeply rooted, and nothing separated them. Not even Jackson, who was always a witness to their displays of affection, making him feel uneasy whenever he stepped foot in Jiah's house.
     While Jackson was happy for the two and gave 100% of his support, he couldn't help but feel sad. He denied to himself that he was envious, because to put it into better words, he felt like he was missing something. There was something that he didn't have but wanted very much. It had been a long time since he had last felt that feeling.        "Jackson? Do you wanna see this with us?" Mark asked his friend curiously, pointing to the poster.
     Jackson raised his eyebrow, "This? Nah, not my style. You guys go alone! I don't wanna screw up stuff between you guys," he patted the young couple on each of their backs, "Hurry now! Go on!"
     With Jackson's urging and quick smiles of "thank you", Mark and Jiah disappeared down a dark hallway leading to the theater rooms after buying their tickets, leaving Jackson by himself.
     While walking around the shopping center after exiting the theater, Jackson decided on going shopping for new clothes. He had enough clothes, but it passed the time, and was better than watching a corny romance film with two lovebirds who would only hold each other's hands the whole time while Jackson ate three tubs of popcorn out of boredom.
     He walked around the men's section of a popular street fashion shop and saw a nice t-shirt sitting on a rack and reached out for it, only to see another hand do the same.
     "Jackson?!" Jaebum yelled out in surprise.
     "Jaebum?!" the latter yelled back.
     Realizing that their hands were both touching the same shirt, the two both quickly pulled away, having thoughts of boiling their hands since they both almost touched each other.
     "Why are you here?" Jackson sneered, giving a brooding look at Jaebum. The other boy in return gave an annoyed scoff.
     "What? I can't go shopping? You don't control me," he replied, looking off haughtily. It was silent between the two for a while. They were both looking away from each other, as if they didn't want to acknowledge each other's presence.       It had been a while since they had heard anything about each other. For a while there, it seemed like the two were on hiatus with their careers, but really, they had just toned down a bit with the appearances at dangerous clubs and parties.      Jaebum clicked his tongue and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "How's Alice?" he asked quietly.
     Jackson looked up quickly with a small hint of shock, "Oh, um. She's good. We call her Jiah now. Jiah Yoo," he replied, nodding his head.
      Jaebum thought about the new name, "Jiah?" he raised a brow.
     "Yeah. A lot of things happened around Christmas," Jackson added.
     Jaebum nodded, agreeing with one of Jackson's statements for once in his life. He thought back to Christmas night and what happened with Jiah and him. It certainly still hurt, but he was slowly getting over it. But his love was still there, even when he tried hard to suppress it.
     "Anyway, I don't care what you're here for, I don't want to see your ugly face!" Jackson suddenly exclaimed like a child. That ignited agitation in Jaebum, who cursed under his breath and stepped up to Jackson, grabbing his jacket collar as the two suddenly got up in each other's faces.
     "Ah! Jaebum!!" a feminine voice called from afar. Once Jaebum heard, he let out a heavy sigh.      "Who's that?" Jackson asked, pointing to the girl walking from across the shop.      "My cousin," Jaebum shook his head in reply. Jackson could only nod.      "What, Youngji?" Jaebum said with exasperation as he turned around to face the girl, who was holding up a pink sweater.      "Is this pretty?" Youngji asked, her voice joyful.
     Jaebum eyed the sweater oddly, "No?" he grimaced.
     "Huh? But I think it's so cute!" Youngji exclaimed happily, holding up the sweater and looking at it with admiration.
     "Then why did you ask me if you already knew yourself?" Jaebum sighed to himself.
     Jackson looked at the girl. Her hair was a pretty, curled auburn color and she had a sweet smile. It was contagious.
     He recognized her as the nurse who tended to Mark last Christmas.
     "Ah!" Youngji cried, noticing Jackson, who was standing in front of her with a wide mouth, "You're... Jackson! Right?"
     Hesitantly, Jackson nodded, "Yeah. Y-Yeah. T-That's me."
     Jaebum eyed the boy. He had never heard Jackson stutter so much before. He always spoke with confidence, that's why the two clashed heads so much.
     "Do you remember me? I'm Nurse Youngji! I was with you and your friend on Christmas! How is he doing now? Oh, and that other girl-- Alice? Wow, time flies by!" the girl must have had large lungs. Every word came out loudly with a smile, cheerfulness and sincerity.
     "Oh yeah. I remember you," Jackson replied back. He remembered her a lot.
     "Youngji, just buy your stuff and we'll leave," Jaebum interrupted, pushing Youngji towards the cashiers.
     "Jaebum," Youngji whined, "I want to talk to Jackson," she pouted.
     "Oh yeah? Well I wanna go now. I'm hungry," Jaebum stormed off, leaving Youngji in the dust.
     "Hey! Wait, you meanie!" Youngji called after the boy, but he wouldn't listen. With a sad smile, she turned to Jackson, "It was nice to see you again, Jackson. Bye now!" she waved, and then ran off to pay for her