Mark stared at the screen as the ‘call’ icon flashed which indicated it was trying to connect to the desired location halfway round the world from where he laid on his bed in the JYPE rented accommodation that functioned as a dorm for seven boys and their manager. Mark resisted drumming his fingers as the anticipation and impatience grew. He hadn’t been able to talk to his nieces, Leila and Kylie, for ages because of the time difference and the fact that his nieces were now enrolled in school. As much as he wanted to talk to them and they to him, their education came first.

That was why Mark had been looking forward to this particular call for weeks, especially since it was decided that Got7 would be going to Los Angeles as part of their FLY tour. A crackled ‘hello’ wrenched Mark from his thoughts of the last time he had spoken to his adorable girls and he responded immediately with a loud ‘HEY!’ He sat up while his eyes searched the screen to see his sister, Tammy, in the background while the two girls he had been thinking off stuck their faces very close to the camera.

“Uncle Mark~” cried the girls almost simultaneously in a sing-song voice.

Mark felt his face split into a large grin, eyes crinkled till you could barely see his pupils. “Hi Kylie! Hi Leila! How are you?” asked Mark, happiness bubbling over as he watched the girls jostle over who could be in the best seat for the video call.

“I’m good!” cried the younger Leila before Kylie started on an exciting narrative about what had happened to her in school for that week – something about a class trip to an aquarium. Leila made various interjections, often saying things like ‘yeah’ or ‘right’ in agreement with her older sister. Mark just sat back and listened, revelling in the joyful lilt in his nieces’ innocent voices. They were so full of life, so full of hope and happiness – it was infectious.

“Girls, aren’t you curious about Uncle Mark? Why don’t you ask him how his day was?” Tammy suggested, tapping Kylie’s check gently with her fingers.

“Oh yeah,” exclaimed the girls, “how about you, Uncle Mark? Are you okay? Are you having fun?”

“I’m always having fun,” Mark told them and it was true. Being part of Got7 was living out a dream he had hoped for through the difficult times he had been a trainee. It wasn’t all rainbows after debuting but the good always overwhelmed the bad. He started telling them about their new song and how the girls would love it. He also told them with a sense of pride that he had written lines for the songs they were singing this time.

“Are you going to change your hair colour again?” asked Leila, tilting her head to her side as she squinted at the screen to see that Mark’s hair was a darker sandy shade of a blonde and brown mixture.

Mark raised his hand and ran it through his fringe. “Hmm…. I’m not sure, Leila. Should I? Is the colour not very nice?”

Leila shook her head for a few seconds before a click of her mother’s tongue reminded her to not be so direct. Leila glanced at her mum and then looked back at Mark with abashed downcast eyes. “Maybe?” she mumbled while Kylie rolled her eyes in a gesture that was not very suited for her young age. Clearly the doting elder sister persona was giving way to the ‘my younger sister is annoying’ mode that children go through but everyone knew that the girls’ bond was unshakable.

Mark chuckled before reassuring Leila that she hadn’t said anything wrong by being honest. “You know, maybe I think so too,” he said with a wink. Leila’s face cleared instantly. This time, Kylie spoke up, “Maybe you should change it, Uncle Mark,” she suggested in the manner of a fashion consultant.

“Oh, should I?”

“I believe so,” Kylie quipped seriously as if Mark were her client.

Mark bit his cheek to prevent himself from laughing. “Well, then, Ms Kylie,” not failing to notice how much the girl preened when he addressed her as ‘miss’, “what would you suggest?”

Kylie thought for a moment and then bent down for a whispered consultation with Leila while Mark looked at his sister, exchanging looks of bemusement between them. ‘You alright?’ mouthed Tammy and Mark nodded. ‘You?’ Mark asked silently and it was Tammy’s turn to nod. Mark was about to ask something more when the girls stopped whispering with a loud proclamation of “We’ve decided, Uncle Mark!”

“Oh, so what colour should I do next?” Mark asked indulgently.

“PINK!” chorused the girls.

Mark felt his smile falter the slightest bit before he recovered. “P-pink?”

“Yes, PINK!” repeated the girls with proud smiles, clearly believing that their decision was the best in the world for Mark. “You will, won’t you Uncle Mark?” asked Kylie, the grown-up manner gone without a trace to be replaced with the look she often used when she wanted something like her favourite flavour of ice-cream.

Mark swallowed. He hadn’t minded the grey, the silver-blue, the green highlights, everything so far really but pink was far from what he had thought they would suggest.

“Em, why pink?” asked Mark, stalling for time.

“Because it’s our favourite colour,” Leila answered, her eyes bright and expectant.

“Pink,” Mark murmured, glancing at his sister who was clearly torn between sympathy and mirth.

“You’ll look great, Uncle Mark! Everything looks prettier in pink!” declared Kylie.

“You will, won’t you, Uncle Mark?” repeated Leila who by now was staring at Mark with puppy eyes that rivaled and defeated any looks any of s could throw at him.

Mark sighed, wondering if he could perhaps say no, his company wouldn’t let him yet. Or maybe suggest something else. Anything to get away from pink.

 

 

 

A couple of months later, Mark arrived at the airport with his hair dyed a light pink.