Lim Jaebum’s relationship with Mark was probably the one Jackson was the most envious of, a deep-rooted friendship between the two oldest members of the same age, according to the lunar calendar at least but that was all that counted. It was that difference that allowed Mark alone to tell Jaebum right in his face he wasn’t funny at a particular joke, to call him Jaebummie when Mark put on a cute act, to his head without it being degrading, or to put a casual arm around his shoulders without it being condescending, because Jackson was pretty sure that if a younger Dongsaeng like Bambam were to do that, Jaebum would have him in a headlock and dishevel his hair in no time. In fact, Jaebum even relaxed into the arm and slightly leaned his head back on Mark’s shoulder whenever Mark did it, as if Mark were the only one he could rely on. Moreover, he did rely on Mark, sharing his leader responsibilities at times and letting Mark take over command to straighten things out when he was at his wit’s end or when it came down to restraining the younger members whilst they were out of control. Jackson was okay with it, as long as Jaebum had one trustworthy person he could feel safe around to be himself. The truth was, Jackson felt guilty about being part of the troublemaker bunch every so often and giving the leader a hard time. What Jackson was not okay with, was Jaebum’s preferential treatment toward Mark, like that time when Mark was the hyper one and disturbed Jaebum’s attempt at a serious speech with a childish “PIZZA, PIZZA!” without Jaebum getting mad. Jaebum even had a good laugh with him, setting equity within the group at nought, not that anyone complained. Not even Jackson did. It wasn’t like Jaebum ever got mad at Mark, Jackson was convinced Jaebum never did, no matter how short-tempered Jaebum was or had been in the past. At first, Jackson thought it was because of Mark’s introverted character and Jaebum’s deductive reasoning to prohibit anyone cutting Mark off on principle when he was on a roll. But none of this even made Jackson attentive of Jaebum’s soft spot for Mark. Neither did Jaebum’s playful bragging incident during a broadcast shortly after their debut, about how he knew Mark’s birthday by heart or his public “coming out” as Mark’s fanboy seconds later, not Got7’s fan, which Youngjae clearly questioned, but only Mark’s fan. It wasn’t the fact that during interviews on different occasions Jaebum and Mark chose each other as the one member they would date if they had to date someone in the group, or that Mark admitted it was because Jaebum was good at making decisions and that was his own weak point. It wasn’t their expressed wish to perform in a subunit together right after debuting with the whole group, or how they did just that with the song “We All Try.” It wasn’t the fact that Jaebum was chosen to be Mark’s guardian angel during their Manitou mission and how he took care of Mark so naturally in that promotional term. It wasn’t even the strawberry milk incident during their “If You Do” promotions, in which Mark and Jaebum had to act like a couple and Jaebum played voluntarily, without anyone holding a gun at his head, the role of a feisty girlfriend who couldn’t believe that her boyfriend had the guts to buy her said strawberry milk when she so obviously hated it. Jackson thought the whole thing was hilarious, he even suggested that Mark play the boyfriend. In the end, it was the little details about Mark that only Jaebum noticed that made Jackson attentive of Jaebum’s soft spot, like the days Mark would use perfume or not, a thing Jackson was completely oblivious to until he had the time to finally watch their Got2day DVD and heard Jaebum mentioning this snippet in his conversation with Mark. This was, what made Jackson aware of the different depths of observation. Yet again, the leader had taught him a lesson, regardless of whether it was unintentional, Jackson was learning from the one who could make the quietest member over-flow with discussions about his dreams for the future without inhibitions.