Gift for jyp276

Gift from ???

 

Title of the gift: Our Dream, Right Here

Pairing: MarkJin

Words: ~3.3k

Rating: G

Warnings: none

Note to my giftee:

너와 나의 꿈은 여기에

(Our dream is right here)

-Fly by GOT7

Whatever it is, may it be small or big, I hope you’ll move forward with your dream in mind. I hope you have a great and fun holidays! Take care always. Continue loving GOT7!

They were not satisfied. The Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville. The duo that brought about the airplane on that faithful day of December 17, 1903. Prior to their successful 12 second-flight, numerous changes in the aircraft were done. But they didn’t back down.

And little did they know that this vehicle would bring about something more than being a means of transportation.

It was a gloomy day. The rain was pouring hard that raindrops could be heard even if one was inside the room, lying on top of the bed and wrapped in three layers of comforter. Or maybe Mark’s hearing was that sensitive to the rain.

Mark liked the play of pouring rain in his ears as it reminded him that snow comes from clouds as well. This reminded him that the snow came in late this year and the day it was announced on TV really dismayed him. But then, he smiled to himself as a good idea came to mind – go to the newly-opened “Bingsu Heaven” bingsu shop across the street and quench his thirst for snow.

So, he went and he frowned upon entering the shop. Left and right, he saw students from their university looking down their tables instead of talking to one another. Some bingsu were already melting while others looked like soup. Ah, one day before the finals.

Being a senior student, Mark’s finals for his subjects were mostly practical. A big grin showed on his face as he thought of how comfortable snuggling three layers of comforter was unlike studying like these “kids” were doing.

He scanned the place for an empty seat. However, also because of the finals, he wasn’t able to see any. But an empty seat never shook Mark’s determination to satisfy his bingsu craving.

Mark, one with peculiar and adventurous taste buds, ordered one fries-flavored bingsu with extra cheese and set out on a short journey to find an empty seat.

/ / /

“One fries-flavored bingsu with extra cheese please,” a voice said.

Jinyoung almost fell from his chair but his mother caught his back on time. He never thought someone would actually buy the said flavor. He was one of the member of their family business who voted against the “innovative flavor of the month” suggested by his youngest sister.

While he loved fries to bits and pieces, he wasn’t able to imagine the horrendous taste of it when mixed with sweet shaved ice and other bingsu ingredients. His family members thought otherwise and the flavor was put on the menu. He remembered murmuring something along the lines of “just wait for the 1^st week to pass by, I bet no one would buy it and it would be removed from the menu right away”. But, on this holy day of Sunday, a person paid for it.

He knew that there was something weird about that day. That day was supposed to be the day of the first snowfall. Instead, the city was drenched by liters of drops of water.

He craned his neck to see the face of the reason for the continued appearance of the “innovative flavor of the month” on the menu. It turned out to be the cool kid from the other section of their course, Mark Tuan.

Jinyoung would be lying if he said that he doesn’t have a crush on the guy – or at least admiration, as his brain corrected him. That Tuan was the first sophomore who was allowed to do the aircraft simulation exercise with the juniors two years ago. That was when his popularity started to rise. And then it was followed by a series of achievement – getting high scores on written exams, acquiring medals at the year-end ceremonies, and being one of the local and national representatives to emergency flight simulations. Tuan was a legend in their middle-sized university, JY Premier University.

Seeing Tuan ordering this made Jinyoung scrunch his face and get up from his seat. His mother’s eyes widened a bit after Jinyoung grabbed the finished “innovative flavor of the month” bingsu ready to be served to the customer who was the first to order it. He became curious and thought that the way to quench his curiosity was to unwillingly serve the flavor himself.

/ / /

Mark heard the sound of footsteps getting near his area. Thankfully, there was an empty spot right next to the bathroom of the shop. He took the spot right away, thinking that the absence of awful smell was a good indication of the good hygienic practices of the employees of the place.

When he noticed that the person stopped right next to him, he assumed that he or she might be the one who’d deliver his order and he turned swiftly. He was met with a familiar face, a fellow aviation student. He started to greet, “Hi. Nice to see –“, but was cut shortly, the eyebrows of the other raised.

“Here’s your order. But why?” Jinyoung, as Mark remembered, said as the server put the dessert on the table.

Mark couldn’t understand what Jinyoung was asking and he didn’t even exerted effort on hiding his confusion. “Why? What are you asking me, exactly?”

/ / /

Jinyoung was somehow startled when that Tuan started greeting him, leading his sarcasm and curiosity to slip.

“But why?” he found himself asking. The question was thrown out there and he knew that he couldn’t back out. Even if he was asking that Tuan.

“Why did you order this flavor?” Jinyoung added some details that would hopefully clarify his question. Mark, now understanding, turned towards him and said “just because” with a smile big enough to show his teeth and gums.

/ / /

Three days passed after Mark ordered the “innovative flavor of the month” but Jinyoung couldn’t stop thinking about that Tuan’s gummy smile and the way he walked out the store with invisible springs attached to his feet.

“Are you this guy?” asked a man with gray and wavy locks who went right next to Jinyoung while the latter was working his suggestion for next month’s “innovative flavor of the month”. Jinyoung scooted nearer the wall and took a good look at the man. The man was holding his phone with a photo of a weird-looking bingsu and his blurred side profile at a recognizable distance. The man looked like he came from a foreign country yet he looked familiar.

Jinyoung bowed in greeting and asked, “Excuse me, Sir. What is that?”

The man’s eyes were filled with concern but he seemed to sense the younger man’s hesitation at his closeness. The older man adjusted his posture and stood a bit farther. “Oh, sorry. It was kind of rude at me to come right at you without introducing myself. Do you happen to know a Mark Tuan?” Jinyoung nodded slightly and the older man continued, “I am his father. He hasn’t been in contact since he moved to another dorm last week and this picture is the last picture he shared with his best friends. I was wondering if you’ve heard from him since then.”

“I don’t know where he is staying. But I can help you get in touch with the representative of their section and maybe he knows where Mark is.” Jinyoung said, reaching for his phone and calling Im Jaebum.

Jaebum: Oy, Jinyoung. What’s up?

Jinyoung: Mark’s dad is here. Do you happen to know what’s up with him?

Jaebum: Ah, wonder boy? Youngjae said that he has been ill since two days ago.

Jinyoung: Who’s Youngjae? Anyway, can you give me his address so I could guide his dad going there.

Jaebum: Youngjae is his new roommate. Okay, I’ll send the address via text. I’ll hang up first. The prof is looking irritated at me right now.

Jinyoung: All right. Thanks, JB.

/ / /

He dreamed that he was in a world full of colors. There were no distinct architectures and no other individuals like him around. Just a world splashed with different shades of blue, white, red, and a lot more. And in the dream, he was a little boy in front of a big hand.

The big hand grabbed a big slipper nearby and the hand made a swinging motion towards him. He took a few steps backward but the slipper hit him hard. His knees buckled down and he found himself kneeling while the hand was readying for another swing.

He turned away from the hand and started running. As if wearing a VR mask, phrases like “never good enough”, “stupid boy”, “no good” came and went on his left and right, blinking and flashing bright lights.

Suddenly, he felt a rope wrapping around his waist. He stopped running and looked back to check for the big hand. He saw that the hand was nowhere in sight. Slowly, the rope seemed to lift him off the ground.

He sensed a strange feeling of relief.

After a few hours of being lifted from the ground, he saw a stirring wheel and a horizon full of clouds ahead of him.

He went for it and held the wheel in his hands. Right there, he’d never felt so stable and contented in his entire life.

/ / /

Jinyoung accompanied the worried Papa Tuan, as the older man fondly explained to be his nickname that was given by Mark’s friends, to the new dormitory of that Tuan. Along the way, cold sweats were evident on Papa Tuan’s forehead, a sign of great concern that made Jinyoung’s chest ache a little.

Upon reaching the doorstep, Papa Tuan came forward hurriedly and knocked the door thrice before calling out for his son. There was silence at the other side of the door. Papa Tuan knocked thrice again and still there was no answer.

Jinyoung walked shyly to the side of Papa Tuan and tried to open the door. Indeed, the dock was unlocked. As the door swung open, they saw Mark sleeping soundly and wrapped in thick layers of comforters. Mark’s cheeks were flushed red. There were medications placed on top of his bedside table.

Papa Tuan came right up to Mark to check for his temperature and to wake him up. He kept muttering things that were supposed to encourage his son like “hold on”, “keep breathing”, “Daddy’s here” as if it was a life-and-death situation. For Jinyoung, it looked as if Mark caught a bad cold or just decided to sleep in after a tiring, sleepless night. Jinyoung excused himself although he was quite certain that the older man couldn’t care less as he was too focused on his son.

Jinyoung settled to sit at the fire exit’s staircase located near Mark’s room. The ache on Jinyoung’s chest didn’t go away but grew ever stronger. But it wasn’t something new. He knew it had something to do with seeing Papa Tuan so worried and concerned with his son.

A dad caring for his son. Jinyoung laughed bitterly as he remembered the worry and concern Papa Tuan showed a while ago. It wasn’t wrong, for sure. But that concept was foreign to him.

He spent a few more minutes staring at the wall and waiting for the ache to subside. It was the sound of a closing door that brought him back to his senses and brought his feet to stand up and to go back to Mark’s room.

Papa Tuan was ready to leave when Jinyoung went back to the door. The change of Papa Tuan’s vibe was very noticeable; there was an added shine to his eyes and the wrinkles on his forehead were nowhere to be seen. Papa Tuan smiled from ear to ear when he saw Jinyoung. “Thank you again, young man. I’m sorry if I seemed to have overreacted a while ago. I just don’t want any kind of harm to come my son’s way. I’m sure you understand how I feel.” Papa Tuan lightly patted Jinyoung’s arm, oblivious to the ache that was starting to form on Jinyoung’s chest once again.

Jinyoung put on a fake smile that no one would even bother checking the authenticity. “Of course, I understand, sir,” he answered, trying to look as sympathetic as possible. “How is he doing?”

“He just caught a bad cold. Nothing to worry about,” Papa Tuan said in a matter-of-factly voice, a great contrast to his panicky state minutes ago. “Also, he wanted to see you. But he said that he’ll just come by the shop when he gets better.”

“There’s really no need. I was just doing my job as a responsible citizen, sir.”

Papa Tuan gave him a knowing smile. “Then, I guess he just wants to see you.”

/ / /

That night, when Jinyoung came home from his classes, he found a note addressed to him. The note read “I bought the fries-flavored bingsu to help the economy. –MT”. At the back of the note, MT wrote his cellphone number in doodle.

Jinyoung texted him, “Only a day left before the finals. Why are you studying about the economy?”

After a few seconds, Mark replied, “I need a study buddy. Help me?”

/ / /

Mark was already dressed to go out when he sent the last text to Jinyoung. He knew that Jinyoung would get the hint, or he really really hoped so.

Mark didn’t need a study buddy. He just wanted to see Jinyoung. After a few days of staying in his room, what was stuck in his mind was the manner of prying – or inquiring – Jinyoung did when he ordered at their shop. There was something in the way Jinyoung asked that made him curios about the other too. Maybe it’s the genuine desire to know why Mark ordered the flavor. Maybe it’s the effort Jinyoung put in going out of his way to serve the bingsu.

Also, maybe because his best friends, Jackson and Bambam, said that they look cute together just by seeing Jinyoung’s side profile in his picture of the bingsu.

/ / /

He dreamed that he was in a world full of colors. There were no distinct architectures and no other individuals like him around. Just a world splashed with different shades of blue, white, red, and a lot more. And in the dream, he was a little boy carried by a big hand. He didn’t know whom the hand belongs to. But it was a big hand and it carried him to different places.

He knew the places were different because the feel of the colors changed from one place to another. He noticed that he was struggling away from the grasp of the hand, trying to break free by biting and kicking the fingers of the big hand as hard as he could. Slowly, the hand loosened its grip on him and he found himself falling faster and faster, colors rapidly swirling and changing around him. Somewhere in this colorful world, he heard voices of different tones and timber saying “oxygen!” “hold on tight!” “hey, are you all right?” repeatedly. Still, he continued falling. He flapped his arms, attempting to slow down the fall. Stronger and faster, he flapped his arms like his life depended on it as it’s really the case. Suddenly, he saw rope beside him. He grabbed the rope and pulled himself up, without thinking where it would lead him or who might be on the other end. He was desperate to go anywhere else but here. So, he pulled and pulled. Until he saw it.

He saw a stirring wheel and a horizon full of clouds ahead of him.

He went for it and held the wheel in his hands. Right there, he’d never felt so stable and contented in his entire life.

/ / /

Jinyoung and Mark met at the secret room of the bingsu shop, which was sort-of an extension to Jinyoung’s bedroom. Jinyoung started to gather his textbooks but Mark stopped him. “I know I said I needed a study buddy. But I think I’ve had enough studying during the days I was down with a cold.”

Jinyoung expected Mark to say something along those lines but it still shocked him to think of the other reason why Mark was there. As if Mark was reading his mind, Mark said and confirmed Papa Tuan’s conclusion, “I just wanted to see you, Jinyoung.” Mark flashed his big smile, showing his gums and teeth.

Jinyoung giggled at Mark’s confession. He felt an easy and comfortable vibe with Mark around. He felt that there were no boundaries, even if they weren’t classmates for any subject for the past three years.

It’s amazing how people can be perfect strangers at one moment and friends – or more – at the next moment. Somehow, it just takes a hello or a question. Being genuinely interested even just for a moment. Sincerity could take people to places and connect people with one another.

They talked all night long about different topics. Jinyoung even got to taste the new “innovative flavor of the month”, creamy wasabi and mint bingsu, as Mark suggested. Jinyoung didn’t like it that much but he didn’t hate it either so Mark finished the bingsu.

After getting around the topic of the coverage for the practicals tomorrow, Mark asked, “This is somehow a cliché question but I’m really interested in asking you – interested in you.” Mark trailed off; he imagined cutting his tongue for being quite autonomous sometimes. He continued, “So, why did you want to be a pilot?”

Jinyoung nodded, acknowledging the question, and took a deep breathe. “My father said I couldn’t fly.”

“But don’t we all?” Mark said, not quite understanding Jinyoung’s answer.

“Silly, I mean figuratively. That I couldn’t amount to anything. At first, it was just a few times, when he gets drunk. He says things he doesn’t mean. Or I just wanted to believe that he doesn’t mean to say the nasty things he blurt out while he was drunk. As time went by, he made sure to make me feel inadequate. Snide remarks when meeting our relatives. He says they were just jokes but I felt the seriousness of his words.” Jinyoung wiped the tears forming in his eyes and continued, “But I didn’t want to back down. I still had the heart of a dreamer, even though I didn’t have a dream job. I was lost until I discovered the flight course at the university. Something stirred inside me as I ticked the checkbox in the application form. And I guess that’s when the new dream began.”

Jinyoung took a steadying breath and asked Mark the same question. “My mom got in a state of coma after a traumatic flight to California. I was already a teenager then. The flight was intensely turbulent and I found my mother struggling to breathe. People rushed by our side to help her but she slip into a coma after a few moments. We had to take an emergency landing. My dad met us in the hospital. He was distressed. That moment turned our lives around. Dad started to get worried over the little things, especially when my siblings and I get sick. I wasn’t comfortable in riding airplanes anymore. But, ironically, I feel at ease the most when I handle the airplane’s stirring wheel. I still remember that first simulation at sophomore year.”

Suddenly, Jinyoung hugged Mark. The tears that were trying to escape from both their eyes rolled freely down their cheeks. Mark patted his shoulder and hugged him back tightly. No words were exchanged but the hug was enough for this moment.