Mark had finally made his way to the dining room and they were eating a lot of food. Mark couldn’t believe the amount of food that was on the table. He was used to not eating a lot, as seeing the Federation liked to starve their lab rats. Mark chewed his meat and watched as the others were digging in and eating furiously. He couldn’t figure out why they ate so animalistic.

After a few hours of eating and talking about things, BTS got up and left. Shinhwa got up and was about to leave when Andy noticed that Mark was still eating.

Andy sat next to Mark and said, “Mark, you’re not finished? We are done already.”

Mark shrugged and put another piece of meat in his mouth as he chewed.

Mark swallowed the piece of meat and drank some wine as he looked at Andy and said, “You learn to savor your food instead of chowing down. Remember, I was starved at the Federation. So, I’m not like you or anyone else that just shovels food in their mouth and their done. I like to taste it and remember it.”

Andy stood up and looked at Eric. Eric shook his head and said, “Come on, Andy. Let’s talk about what we are going to do about the Federation.”

Shinhwa left the table and Mark was by himself. For once, since he came to be with Shinhwa, he felt alone. No one stayed with him. He set his silverware down and finished the last piece of meat as he drank the rest of the wine in his glass. He wiped his mouth with the napkin and stood up. He didn’t feel like talking with the two groups. He decided to go outside and sit. He opened the door and walked out in the night air. He sat on the patio steps and looked up at the twinkling stars.

The senior maid had walked into the dining room with the other maids and Team Jin that lost. The senior maid looked at Mark’s plate and was shocked. He had cleaned the plate to where there was nothing left on the plate. She looked outside and saw him sitting there. She was a stern woman, but being a mother, her emotions would get to her when she would see one of the kids looking down. She may not say it, but she has a special place in her heart for Mark. He looks like he needs a mother’s love and a friend. She heard Team Eric talking and laughing in the living room.

The senior maid looked over and saw Mark stand up and walk down the steps and out into the backyard. She sighed and shook her head. She walked into the living room and saw them talking. She clapped her hands and everyone stopped talking. She looked at Eric.

“Do you realize that your charge is by himself?”

Eric nodded and said, “Yeah, I do. He says he wants to savor the food. We’re not planning on sitting there and waiting for him.”

The senior maid narrowed her eyes and then looked at Andy and said, “You Master Andy. Your charge is by himself.”

Andy nodded and said, “I know. I’m just waiting for him to finish his food.”

The senior maid put her hands on her hips and walked over to him. She bent down and grabbed the top of his ear and he got up. She practically dragged him into the kitchen and stood him in front of the window and pointed.

The senior maid said, “Does it look like he is done eating?”

Andy looked out in the yard, and then looked at the table. Mark’s plate was spotless. Andy sighed and looked at the senior maid.

The senior maid said, “If you don’t make a move, I’m going to get my wooden spoon....”

Andy knew what that meant. He opened the door and walked out. He shivered from the cool night air. He saw Mark laying on the grass and looking up at the stars. Andy sighed and walked towards Mark and sat down next to him. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes.

Then Andy broke the silence and said, “Why didn’t you come into the living room?”

Mark continued looking up at the stars and says, “I didn’t think it was my place to come in and be one with Shinhwa and BTS.”

Andy was shocked and said, “What do you mean? We are trying to get your involved with the rest of us.”

Mark looked at a shooting star and wished on it, hoping his wish comes true. Then Mark says, “I’ve never belonged with your gang or BTS. I’m an outsider, and one that will never fit in.”

Andy said, “How can you say that? You can fit in, it just will take time.”

Mark sighed again as he looks at Andy and says, “All of you left me, just because I don’t swallow my food whole. I just want Jackson so that I can feel comfortable again.”

Andy pulled a few blades of grass and felt sad for Mark, but also angry because he won’t even try to fit in. Andy said, “Well, Mark, maybe if you try a little harder to fit in with the rest of us, you wouldn’t feel like an outsider.”

Mark sat up and fumed at Andy. He said, “What the hell, Andy? You think it’s EASY for me? It’s HARD for me to trust people, it’s HARD for me to try a “little harder”. My life isn’t roses like the rest of yours. You and the others aren’t cursed with being a monster. You are lucky. I’m the one that has to live with trying to make sure my shift doesn’t come out and hurt anyone.” Mark stood up and said, “You have no right to force someone to become like you. I can’t believe that you said that. My brother is not here. I feel all alone and none of you are helping! You forced me to come to Korea. I don’t like it here. But, I can’t do anything about it.”

Andy looked up at Mark and he saw tears in Mark’s eyes. Mark turned and walked back into the house and passed the senior maid. She saw tears running down Mark’s face and she looked out the window at Andy who was sitting on the grass. She walked over to the window and was about to open the door, when the others ran into the kitchen.

Minwoo said, “We just saw Mark run upstairs and it looks like he was crying. What happened?”

The senior maid shrugged and said, “Ask Master Andy. He was the one that talked to Master Mark.” She turned and washed down the table after all the dishes and glasses were taken off.

Eric walked outside and stood next to Andy and said, “What the hell did you say to Mark?”

Andy looked at the grass and said, “I think I overstepped my boundaries with Mark.”

Eric said, “What did you say?”

Andy stood up and brushed off his backside of any grass and said, “I just wanted him to be more like us. He never tries to get closer and I wanted him to try harder, and I guess I told him that he should try harder to fit in, that way he wouldn’t feel like an outsider.”

Eric sighed and said, “Why would you say that? Don’t you realize how fragile he is right now? He doesn’t have Jackson with him, he’s in another country, and he’s dealing with that shift inside. You have a LOT of nerve saying that.”

Andy looked at Eric and said, “Don’t you think I feel like crap right now? I just hurt Mark’s feelings. I was just trying to help and I ended up hurting him.” Andy sighed and walked into the house and was going towards the stairs.

Minwoo was sitting on the steps and he said, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Andy said, “I want to apologize to Mark.”

Minwoo shook his head and said, “Leave him alone for a while. He needs time away from us. Whatever you said, hurt his feelings. If anyone is going to talk to him, I’ll do it. At least he won’t feel nervous when he’s talking to me.”

Andy sighed and looked at Eric and said, “So, what can I do to resolve this?”

Eric said, “Ask Jea. She’ll find something for you to do.”

Andy begged Eric not to send him to the senior maid, but Eric shook his head and said, “You were part of the planning on what would be done if someone in the house got in trouble, or disobeyed someone. Talk to Jea, she’ll find something for you to do.”

Andy sighed and walked out of the living room to look for the senior maid, Jea, who later smacked Andy on the backside with her spoon after she found out what he did, and she made him scrub the floor. She worked but also watched him, and scolding him for what he said to Mark.

Later that day, Minwoo walked up the stairs and knocked on Mark’s door. He didn’t hear a reply, and opened it. He looked around but he didn’t see Mark. He was ready to go and tell the others when he heard what sounded like sniffles and whimpers. Minwoo looked around for the sound and realized it was coming from the closet. He walked over to the closet and opened it. He stooped down and saw Mark huddled underneath the clothes.

Minwoo sighed and his heart was breaking as he heard Mark whimper and sniffle. He moved some of the clothes to the side and then knelt on the floor again. He looked at Mark and saw him hunched over. He hand his hands on top of his head and his shoulders were shaking.

Minwoo said, “Mark.”

Mark let out a sob and said, “Minwoo hyung, please go back downstairs.”

Minwoo sighed and said, “Mark, come on. I don’t know what Andy said to make you cry, but you can tell me.”

Mark let out another sob and shook his head and said, “No. Please, just go back downstairs.”

Minwoo sighed and looked behind Mark and saw something moving. He moved closer and moved things around and he got a shock of his life as he looked at a tan tail that looks like a cheetah’s tail. He looked at Mark and grabbed Mark’s hands and pulled them away from his head. He gasped when he saw cheetah ears on Mark’s head.

Minwoo said, “Mark, how did this happen?”

Mark shrugged but just looked down at his lap and said, “I don’t know. I saw it after I showered. I thought that was it. But, I guess what Andy hyung said caused me to look like this.” Mark looked at Minwoo and said, “Don’t tell the others. I don’t want them to know about this.”

Minwoo said, “Why not? They’re going to know eventually.”

Mark opened his mouth and Minwoo said, “What did Andy say to you exactly?”

Mark sighed and explained to Minwoo what Andy said. Minwoo got pissed with Andy and he said, “Well, Andy shouldn’t have said that, but now we have a new problem. But, we need to address this with the rest of the people.”

Mark begged Minwoo, but Minwoo was stronger and he pulled Mark to his feet and took his hand in his. They walked down the stairs and into the living room. Minwoo called Andy to come into the living room. When Andy got into the living room, he saw Mark standing next to Minwoo with his hands on his head.

Minwoo looks at Andy and said, “First, you were WAY out of line to say what you did to Mark. Mark is fragile right now, and you saying he should try harder to be like us, is like putting fire on a wound. Second, we have a new problem.”

Eric said, “What new problem?”

Minwoo sighed and turned to Mark and grabbed his arms. He turned Mark around and Minwoo looked at everyone’s reaction as they saw Mark’s tail.

Minwoo said, “That’s not the only thing.” Minwoo took Mark’s hands away from his head and more gasps as they saw the cheetah ears on Mark’s head.

Suddenly, there was a scream and three of the maids saw Mark and pointed at him. One of them said, “What is that? Is that a shapeshifter?”

Mark cried out and tried to run but Minwoo held on to him. Mark struggled against Minwoo and said, “I WANT JACKSON! PLEASE! JACKSON!” Minwoo tried to keep his hold on Mark.

Jea walked in and clobbered the maid over the head with a newspaper and said, “Be more respectful.” She walked over to Minwoo and took Mark. She put him against her chest and wrapped her arms around him. She heard his heart wrenching sobs and his clear as day plead for Jackson.

Jea looked at everyone and brought Mark into the kitchen. She had him sit down in a chair and she poured some milk in a glass and set it in front of Mark. She pushed the cookies next to him as she bent down and ran her fingers through Mark’s hair and made sure she didn’t touch his cat ears.

Jea said, “Don’t worry, Master Mark. Don’t listen to those twiggy maids. You look handsome to me.”

Mark looked at her and said, “I...I’m a monster.”

Jea shook her head and wiped Mark’s tears and said, “No, you’re not. You are a handsome young boy.”

Mark said, “Look at me, Jea. I have ears and a tail of a cat. D...Don’t you find me scary and ugly?”

Jea stood up and took Mark’s chin and made him look up at her and said, “Now, I want you to listen to me. I don’t care how you look, neither should you. You look handsome. You are not ugly or scary. You just have some added features, but we can work around them.”

Mark sniffled and wiped his eyes and said, “Why don’t you act like the other maids?”

Jea pulled up a chair in front of him and shrugged as she said, “I don’t know. I guess I’m used to it. I’ve seen these kinds of experiments before. Of course, the subjects never lived. But, you are a prime example of miracles. I know you don’t want to hear it, but you are. You are a special young man.”

Mark picked up the milk and with a shaky hand drank some of the milk. He said, “I miss Jackson.”

Jea said, “Who is Jackson?”

Mark sighed and said, “He’s my brother. Older brother. He’s back in America.”

Jea said, “Why are you here then?”

Mark sighed and said, “Because the Federation is after my brother and I. So, they brought me here, but Jackson is back in America. I want Jackson so much.”

Jea sighed and handed Mark a cookie and said, “You’ll see your brother again. Here have a cookie.”

Mark took the cookie and was about to eat it when he stopped and looked at her and said, “But, you said not to eat the cookies.”

Jea shook her head and said, “Not in this case. You need some comfort food, and I know cookies have ALWAYS been my comfort food.”

Mark smiled and said, “Thank you Jea.”

Jea smiled and said, “No problem, Master Mark.”

Jea watched as Mark ate up a few cookies and drank the milk completely.

Jea said, “Now, how do you feel?”

Mark smiled a little and said, “I feel a little better. Thank you Jea.”

Jea smiled back and said, “No problem. I may seem like a , but I’m actually a real softy to most people. I saw you and knew that you needed a motherly touch.”

Mark blushed and bowed to Jea. Jea smiled at him and then her eyes went wide.

Mark looked behind him and didn’t see anything. He looked back at Jea and said, “What’s wrong?”

Jea took out a cell phone and walked over to Mark. She put the phone in front of him and he could see himself in the camera. She raised it higher and he touched the top of his head and said, “No ears.”

He stood up and turned around so his backside was facing the camera and he looked at the camera and said, “No tail.”

Jea nodded and closed the cell phone and said, “That’s great.”

Mark said, “I wonder why it suddenly disappeared.”

Jea said, “Do you think it could be because of your emotions? You were emotional a while ago, and then you calmed down with some cookies.”

Mark smiled and said, “That could be it.” Mark walked over and put his arms around Jea and said, “Thank you so much Jea.”

Jea smiled and patted Mark’s back. Mark let her go and sat back down in the chair. Jea and Mark looked up to see Eric walking in. Eric was shocked to see that Mark didn’t have a tail or ears.

Eric said, “What happened?”

Jea said, “Comfort cookies.”

Eric nodded and said, “It’s good to see the human looking Mark.”

Jea said, “Master Eric, I have to run to the store. Do you think it’s okay if Master Mark comes with?”

Eric turned around and said, “I don’t know.”

Mark stood up and said, “Eric hyung, I’ll stay by Jea’s side and I’ll listen to her instructions.”

Eric said, “Be careful, Mark.”

Mark nodded and smiled as he looked at Jea. Jea got her purse and she walked out of the house with Mark. They walked down the steps into a waiting car. Jea and Mark got in the backseat and the driver took them to the nearest grocery store.

Minwoo walked over to Eric as he stood by the window and said, “Are you sure you should’ve allowed Mark to leave?”

Eric looked at Minwoo and said, “Don’t be so paranoid. I’ve got it covered. Mark and Jea are being followed by two of our cars. They each have four people in both cars. Mark and Jea won’t be hurt.”

Minwoo sighed and said, “I don’t like this. We may be in Korea, but anything could happen to them.”

Eric smiled and walked away saying, “Nothing will happen. Come on. Let’s continue talking.”

At the grocery store:

Mark and Jea were walking down the aisles in the grocery store as she was putting food in the shopping cart. Jea handed Mark the list and he looked at it and his face paled. Korean. Everything is in Korean.

Jea looked at Mark and said, “What’s wrong?”

Mark sighed and said, “I...I can’t read Korean. I’m sorry Jea.”

Jea smiled and patted Mark’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. It’s fine. You take the cart, and I’ll take the list.”

Jea took the list and found what she needed. Soon, the cart was plenty full of food and ingredients that she’s going to need for the many mouths to feed. There was not much food at the house because Shinhwa and BTS were in America, but now that they are back, she needs to stock up on food.

Jea and Mark finished getting the groceries and she goes and pays for the groceries. They walk out and head for the car. Jea opens the trunk. Mark and Jea start putting the groceries in the trunk when someone was coming up behind them. Jea put the last of the food in the back when she heard Mark yelp. She looks behind her and sees four men wearing masks holding guns at her. One of them held Mark by the throat. He struggled but the man wouldn’t let him go.

Jea looks at them and says, “Who are you? Let Mark go.”

One of the men says, “Let Shinhwa know that they overstepped their boundaries by coming back to Korea. They are no longer legends. They are nothing. WE are going to be the next legends.”

Jea said, “Who are you?”

The man who was talking stepped toward Jea and held the gun against her chest and said, “Tell Eric that Block B is not standing down. We have this boy. If they want him back, they’ll have to come to us.”

The man holding Mark struggled with him as he pushed Mark toward their car. They forced him in and they drove off. Jea closed the trunk and looked at the man in the driver’s seat, but he was dead. Jea looked around and didn’t know what to do. She doesn’t know how to drive. She pulled out her phone and dialed Eric.

At the Shinhwa Mansion:

Shinhwa and BTS were busy munching on snacks and watching TV. They were laughing while watching a drama. A phone in the den was ringing but no one was there to pick it up. The phone stopped ringing after five rings.

Just then, Andy’s phone rang in his pocket and everyone looked at him. He blushed and stood up as he walked out of the living room. He opened his phone to see the number and saw that it was from Jea.

“Hey, Jea. What’s up?”

Jea was crying on the phone.

Andy walked back toward the living room and said, “Jea, what’s wrong? Stop crying.”

Andy’s frantic talking stopped everyone from watching the drama and looked at Andy. He said, “Jea, put Mark on the phone.”

“Master Andy...Mark’s been kidnapped.”

 

To be continued...

 

Author’s Note:

So, what did you think of this chapter? Aside from Andy making Mark sad, you get to see Mark show some signs of the shift inside him. Cat ears and a tail. Cute huh?

But, when he feels better, they disappear. I wanted Jea to be strict, but also a loving motherly person. She cares deeply for Mark, along with all the others that live in the house.

Uh oh, Block B stepped over the line by kidnapping Mark. I hope that Shinhwa and BTS can get to him safely.

 

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