Telling the other boys about him leaving for a while proved to be a hassle for Jinyoung since the boys were practically glued together. His main concern was the maknaes as he wondered how their reactions would be like. He felt sorry for not spending time so much with them and the one time he decided to meet all six of them soon, he would drop such news.

Indeed the initial plan to have lunch with the maknaes was turned to movie date with the boys on Friday night which the youngers were clearly so thrilled about despite the supposed lunch with Jinyoung was cancelled. They had started bickering about which movie to watch when Jinyoung extended the invitation in their group chat. The fiasco only ended when Jaebum told them how they would regret not shutting up as soon as possible.

Jinyoung had conveyed his acceptance on the student exchange program to his Dean on the Monday following his talk with Junho and Jackson. He was bound to tell the rest of the boys about his decision tonight but he was clueless about how to do such thing. He also kinda had to drop the bomb on his best friend about the possible extension of his program which Jinyoung afraid would overlap with the time for Jackson’s tournament and he never missed his best friend’s match for anything.

Another worry that kept lingering in Jinyoung’s mind was Mark. He hasn’t met the redhead since their last encounter during the showcase night. In fact, he didn’t see any of the boys since he was so busy with his preparation to Italy. He remembered the elder’s disappointed face when Jinyoung impliedly communicated for the older not to be worried about him.

Was it wrong on his part? He was just trying to protect his heart and with Mark being overly concerned over him would make Jinyoung crave for more but he had no right to do so. Thus, even though Jinyoung was not clear about the other boys, he was sure Mark would be glad about his news because out of sight, out of mind.

Jinyoung decided to let the worry steer clear of his mind for the time being while he prepared for the boys’ presence at his shared home with Jackson for the night.

xxxxx

A certain redhead was busy catching glimpse at his watch for the umpteenth time. The tickling device showed that it was a quarter past 8 and he was certainly running late. The boys had agreed to meet at Jinyoung’s house at 8pm but here Mark was in the middle of a coffee shop. It was crowded with people wanting to wind down after work while looking forward to the weekend.

Mark had stuck there for 10 minutes already. He was done with the consultation for his final paper around 30 minutes ago and decided to stop by the coffee shop to take away some caffeinated beverage to keep him going through the night with the boys. While at that, he decided to buy Jinyoung’s favorite caramel cheesecake. He didn’t know why but he only realized that he already put his order after the cashier proceeded with the payment. He guessed the younger didn’t stop running on his mind ever since the night few days ago.

While waiting, his mind drifted to the younger. He wanted to get on Jinyoung’s good side after what he did and he wanted to properly convey his real feelings to the other. The problem was Mark didn’t know how exactly to do that since he felt like Jinyoung didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. Plus he was sure none of the boys knew he had broken up with Mina and Mark was dreading their reaction once they found out although he was sure they would be glad over it. He knew the boys didn’t fancy his ex-girlfriend that much and simply tolerated with her for his sake.

His reverie was broken by a sudden vibration in his pants. Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he saw a text from his younger brother. This adorable brat, Mark thought while reading the text.

Mark hyunggggg~ where are you? I haven’t seen you all day :-( Everyone is waiting for you already.. Come here soon!!! – Yugyeom

I am on my way. Be there in 15! – Mark

The elder immediately gathered his order that was done as soon as he hit the send button and he bolted out of the door, heading to his car. Mark thanked the heaven the traffic was clear despite it being a Friday night and true enough he reached the apartment complex within the said time. He didn’t want to imagine the youngers’ whines if he was a tad bit later.

Mark made his way upstairs to the seventh floor and once the elevator door dinged open, he proceeded to his destination. He was about to knock when the door was opened from the inside. His brows suddenly lifted upon seeing Jackson’s pouty face getting ready to leave the cozy area.

“Where are you going, Jacks?” the elder asked while making his way inside. He turned to see the younger slipping on his shoes when the latter answered him. “I am on my honorable duty of buying extra snacks for tonight. Just go inside hyung and Jinyoung is in the kitchen.”

Mark gave him a look over the additional information. However before Mark had any chance to retort any reply, the younger of the two already beat him to it. “Don’t sweat it, Mark. I know what you’re thinking.” Jackson then slipped out with a genuine smile on his face while Mark stood at the doorway, still dumbfounded.

He made his way inside and saw Jaebum sitting on the sofa playing a game on his phone. He put all his stuff on the table including Jinyoung’s cake before making his way to his best friend. Jaebum didn’t seem to realize his presence which made Mark purposely threw himself on the other’s legs that were lying on the couch. “What the hell man?” Jaebum grunted, earning himself a hyena laugh from Mark.

“Just messing with you, bro.” He said while his pair of eyes scanned the spacious living room. He saw Youngjae and Bambam in the middle of the living room trying to manhandle the DVD player. “What are we watching tonight?” He directed a question to the two who were busy fumbling with the equipment. “Infinity War, hyung” came an answer from Bambam.

“Whose idea?”. Another question from the oldest that was answered by Youngjae this time after he finally succeeded in figuring out how the player works. “We played rock, paper, and scissors. The winner gets to pick the movie while the loser has to buy snacks for the movie.”

“Okay so I know the loser is Jackson and I am guessing the winner is Bambam?” Mark asked, amused. “You got it wrong, old man.”, answered Bambam which earned him a pillow thrown straight to his face, courtesy of Mark. That got Youngjae laughing and Jaebum snorted while his focus was still on his phone.

“HYUNG~ Why did you do that?” whined the victim of Mark’s abuse. “Because you were being ann