" Bend your knees slightly, shift your body weight to your right leg , move forward and strike "

Jackson watched with keen eyes as JB showed him a new technique of using the swords effectively. The captain was fast , his actions swift . JB nodded his head in satisfaction as the wooden dummy fell down on one clean strike from his sword.  

" Here grab this " 

The captain handed his sword to Jackson and gestured him to get in the position. 

" Show me what you learned " 

With determination , Jackson clutched the sword tight on his hand.  He could feel the burning gaze of captain on his back and that made him a little nervous. If he did well , he will probably get the chance to fight with Corans.  Besides , he needed to prove himself worthy.

" One , two , three , move ! " 

Jackson followed the command. He moved forward as fast he could and strike the dummy with what energy was left on his system. But he wasn't as skilled as captain , a disappointed groan escaped pass his lips when the sword got struck on the dummy instead of cutting it. 

JB patted the trainee's back as a reassurance. 

" Your moves are good. Just work on striking skills and you'll be perfect "

Jackson sat flat on the ground , exhausted. His hands were throbbing with pain , back muscles felt sore from the earlier training. He inhaled and exhaled short shallow breaths , adrenaline still pumping through his heart.  JB took a seat besides him, speaking nothing. 

The captain and the trainee were taking rest when they both felt a pair of eyes on their back, gazing them. 

" Be alert , someone's spying on us " 

JB whispered. He subtly grabbed his defence weapon so as not to alert whoever was watching them. The captain studied the figure from the corner of his eyes waiting for the perfect time to catch the person red handed. 

Just as the spy turned to leave , JB acted fast and pushed the figure on the ground, immediately pinning the person with his body weight. Jackson too, rushed to their direction. 

" Get off me " 

The person below growled in pain from the uncomfortable position he was in -the side of his face smashed on the ground , right hand twisted and the captain's knees digging his back. 

Upon hearing the familiar voice , the captain freed the person , eyes widening in surprise. 

" Jinyoung ? ! " 

The said male glared at JB dusting his clothes. He rubbed the side of his face and crossed his arms. 

" You nearly broke my nose ! " 

Without any words , the captain gently pressed his fingers on Jinyoung's cheek earning a sharp gasp in response. JB pulled his fingers back , a flicker of concern flashing in his eyes. 

" Go see the doctor " 

" It's your fault you check me up " 

Apparently the two male had forgotten the presence of Jackson. The trainee seemed confused , puzzled and more than that amused. 

" Don't act like a brat Jinyoung. Do as I say " 

"  You always impose your will upon me and I always agree. But not this time " 

" What has gotten into you ? How many times do I have to remind you to act like a soldier ? " 

" Exactly , what has gotten into you captain JB ? Why do you pretend to care when you actually don't ? " 

Jinyoung pointed accusing finger at the other male. 

" You are overreacting "

Jackson quietly sneaked out of the scene as the two kept on bickering. 

Mark squirmed on his seat , uncomfortable under the curious gaze of the weird scientist. 

" Tell me everything you know " 

" I will but you have to believe my words " 

The man nodded his head as he took his seat besides Mark. The young fighter sighted , playing with the loose threads of his shirt. 

" I will tell you what I saw " 

" Okay " 

" When I had gone to Coran's area, I noticed a human inside the fence. " 

Mark clenched his jaw hard upon the memory. 

" Everything about him was strange. He was petting the Corans and they didn't attack him. When I reached there to take a closer look , the man and the creatures were gone. At first , I thought it was just my imagination but the bare footprints of the man convinced me otherwise " 

" Hmm ... strange " 

For the first time Mark noticed the seriousness on the man's features. He seemed to be in deep thoughts. 

" Have you informed anyone else about it ? " 

" No I haven't. " 

" Good. Keep this a secret between us"

The scientist gazed at Mark briefly before he averted his eyes to the spilled liquid. 

" Why ? " 

" Not everyone knows this but there are spies residing in headquarters. The person you were talking about shouldn't know what's going on inside here or that you have seen him. Your life might be in danger. " 

" What about captain JB and captain Jinyoung ??  They should know about this " 

" Tell them when no one's around. No way this information should be leaked out " 

Mark was sceptical about the whole situation. Having trust in people easily can sometimes be a disadvantage and he knew it more than anyone else. 

" Why should I trust you ? " 

The man raised his head up , small smile tugging on his lips. 

" Don't . " 

Mark didn't know what else to say or do.

" If you have anything else to do, you can leave " 

Mark absentmindedly walked out of the lab , doubting his own decisions. Did he do the right thing by telling everything to the stranger ? Okay he did skip some truth but nonetheless it was still the truth he spilled. 

" Ouch ! " 

Two voices echoed at the same time as two persons collided with each other. Mark glared at Jackson while Jackson gazed at Mark. 

Without speaking , Mark walked off to the opposite direction only to be stopped by a tight grip on his wrist. 

" What do you want ? " 

Prying the hand off of his wrist , Mark turned around. He didn't want to be rude to Jackson but the thoughts running wild inside his head was making him frustrated. 

" We are still friends right ? " 

" You say Jackson , do you consider me as your friend ? " 

" Of cour___" 

Jackson tried to speak but Mark cut him off. 

"  Then why do you avoid me like I'm some kind of disease ?? Maybe you regret our friendship just like you had regretted ____ " 

Mark's voice died down on his throat. He didn't want to remember that moment , it was like opening a healed wound. 

Jackson swallowed thickly , his soul shattering into million pieces along with his heart . He knew he was hurting the one he cared the most and it was hurting him too. He wanted to fix everything between them , no , he needed to. 

" I'm sorry " 

Moving forward he tried to hold Mark's hands but the other swatted it away. 

" Don't , just don't " 

Mark turned around and walked off.

Jackson had been tracing the patterns of the roof for past thirty minutes with his eyes,  laying on the bed like a dead person. 

" Jackson , are you okay ? " 

Youngjae , unable to tolerate the unusual silence from his usually loud friend , finally asked. 

" Ya. Why ? " 

" You haven't spoken to me since you have returned from training. " 

" I'm just exhausted " 

Youngjae didn't buy the excuse. He could clearly see how distressed and lost Jackson looked. If he was really exhausted , he would have slept by now or at least nag about how hard the training was. But the latter had done neither of those things and it made him even more concerned. 

" It doesn't seem like exhaustion to me. Something's bothering you , isn't it ? If you want you can share it with me " 

" Damn , you are right. Something's really bothering me. I messed up. I hurt the one person I cared about the most " 

Jackson said truthfully. 

" You should apologize to them " 

" I tried to but he won't listen. " 

" Try again then. Maybe give him something he really likes __umm___like some gift or something." 

' What does Mark like ? ' Jackson thought hard and finally after few minutes of thinking came up with an idea. 

" Thank you Youngjae "

His eyes sparkled with hope as he engulfed his friend in tight hug for giving such a brilliant idea. 

Mark was checking his paper work when Yugyeom came inside the room. He paid no heed to the younger , solely focused on finishing the work at hand. 

" Mark , I need to talk to you " 

" About what ? " 

Still looking at the paper,  Mark asked. Yugyeom sighted before he gently pulled the paper out of his brother's hand and placed it on the table. 

" This is serious " 

Mark crossed his arms , pinning the younger male with his questioning gaze. 

" What's going on between you and that alien boy ? " 

" Nothing "

Mark replied confidently. Why was his brother curious about unnecessary things ? 

" Lie to someone who can't see the truth " 

Yugyeom was stubborn. He wasn't going to leave Mark until he gets all of his questions answered. 

" And what truth are you talking about ? " 

" That you love him " 

" I don't " 

" Another lie " 

Yugyeom shook his head,  disappointed that his brother wasn't telling him the truth. 

" It's not lie " 

" You never let anyone come close to you but you are letting him touch you even if you have known him for such a short period of time , you even cried for him " 

Yugyeom pointed out. Mark pinched the bridge of his nose, upset. 

" Guess I have to inform you about the whole situation.  "

Jackson was about to enter the room where Mark was but stopped his actions when he heard the voices coming from inside. He glanced at the flower on his hand. Thinking that it wasn't good to eavesdrop on others , he decided to leave but halted his steps as his name reached his ears. 

" Captain Jinyoung is suspicious of Jackson.  He asked me to befriend the boy and get close to him so that I can get every information about him. And let me make you one thing clear , I don't love him. He means nothing to me . I am doing all this to protect you all "

The flower Jackson had been holding fell on the floor. How stupid of him , trying to ask for apology with that one person who didn't even care if he existed or not. He should have known that it was act all along,  at least,  he wouldn't be hurting this much. He felt something crumbling down - a heart,  that belongs to him. 

Mark could have just pushed him aside , he could have avoided him then . Was it really necessary to toy with his emotions ?? Anger , pain , betrayal all clashed inside him at once.  Jackson clenched his fists tight. He not only hated Corans but from now on Mark Tuan too. 

______________***********______________

* dramatical music * The drama continues. What do you think  Jackson will do ?? Did Mark really betray him or is it just a misunderstanding ??  Don't forget to leave your comments down below ❤❤❤❤ 

Sorry for disappearing for so long. I love you all 

KEEP ON LOVING MARKSON AND GOT7 !!! 

MARK KISSED JACKSON'S PALM AND I'M DEAD!!!