Mark groaned as the alarm rang through his throbbing head; he slowly sat up to turn off the alarm and his chapped lips. Groaning as the bright morning sunlight blinded his sight, he blinked a couple times trying to adjust to it. He ran his fingers through his hair and hissed once he touched the still sensitive and aching spot on his head. He still couldn’t believe it.

The odds of getting struck by lightening is 1 out of 12,000 and Mark in' Tuan happened to be the odd one out. It was completely insane! Out of all the in' people running in streets of Seoul without an umbrella with two loud--mouth best friends purposefully jumping into puddles like stupid kids; he had to be the one hit with freaking lightening.

He woke up hours later in hospital room with a sniffling Jackson and leaky nosed BamBam who screamed out in joy of seeing their best friend awake. Their screams not only alerted the doctors but gave him the worst headaches he had ever experienced in his life and made the ringing in his ears get worst. The nurse told them to shut the up (she said it nicely) or get the hell out and thankfully they chose the latter. 

The doctor told him how lucky he was since the lightening struck his head yet his brain wasn’t fried and there didn’t seem to be any significant damage to his brain or body. They said the ringing in his ears would slowly disappear as time went on but the reddish scars that looked like branches of trees on his body would remain forever. They did mention that he could suffer from some effects that would probably start later in his recovery as his brain and body were slowly trying to adjust especially his heart. 

Mark couldn’t help but ask them why he got struck by lightening but like he expected they didn’t have a clue; after all it wasn’t like he was holding a metal rod in his hand and waving it around in the air like a freakin' crazy person. 

The doctors and nurses were about the leave Mark’s parents came through the room. They were unable to leave work once they got the call about Mark being in the hospital and the moment they left, they were stuck in traffic due to the storm knocking trees and poles down blocking everyone. The doctor immediately told them of his injuries and how he was currently doing. They wanted to hug him but the doctors advised against it since the scars and burns was still sensitive to touch. 

Once they were done explaining the doctors left and his parents turned to BamBam and Jackson. “Boys what the hell happened?” Mama Tuan asked worriedly

“I swear we weren’t doing anything bad” Jackson defended, “We were just running in the rain because we forgot out umbrella’s and the next thing we know Mark is being zapped by lightning and it was the scariest thing I have ever seen. I mean his screams will probably give me nightmares alone” he whimpered and BamBam nodded.

“Next thing we know you’re lying flat on the ground and your body is smoking. Not because you’re hot but because of the lightning” BamBam added and Mark had to roll his eyes. “We called the ambulance and they came and took all of us here”

“Oh” Mama Tuan sniffed, “But at least you’re okay and alive” she smiled and she reached out to touch his hand but pulled back before remembering thad she couldn’t. 

His parent’s made his friends go home since they still had school tomorrow but they promised to visit once it was over. They stayed with him that night but had to leave early the next day for work. He was okay with that since the semi-quietness of the room wouldn’t last forever once Jackson and BamBam came back to visit him. 

The next morning he woke up with his parents gone but there was a note next to him with his parents wishing him well and telling him how much they loved him. At some point during the day, the ringing in his ears stopped and he was truly happy since it was so annoying. However that’s when the craziness of his life began.

Mark was trying to read one of the magazine’s a hospital volunteer gave to him but it became quite difficult since there was some loud commotion happening out in the hallway. A nurse came in and was checking over his chart. ‘God I just want to go home. I am so done with this f hospital’ the nurse said and Mark snorted. It was unbelievable how she could say that with him still in this rom. “Is there something wrong?” She smiled

Mark gave her the confused look, like is she used to saying stuff like that to patients? But he decided to say nothing about it and talk about something else, “Um well it’s kinda loud out there and my headache is still really bad” he said

The nurse walked over to the door, poking her head out and turning her head at both sides of the hallway, “There’s barely anyone outside” she said. Mark gasped, what the hell? “Don’t worry most likely your brain is trying to make sense out of the surrounding world so it’s picking up high frequencies.” Mark breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. Thank goodness for second he thought he was going crazy.

She smiled back at him, ‘Wow he is so cute, if only he was older I could take a nibble out of him.’ she then turned around, leaving the room.

Mark eyes widened; of course anyone would be shocked if they were told that by someone but thing that shocked him the most was the fact that she said that without moving her lips! He was so absorbed in that thought, that he was startled when a male cafeteria worker came by to give him his lunch.

“Sorry man, didn’t mean to frighten you” the worker said 

Mark shaked his head, “No no I was just lost in my thoughts for a second” he said giving a small grin.

“Got a lot on your mind huh?” The worker said and Mark nodded. “Yeah it’s not everyday someone gets hit by lightning”, ‘Damn man I’m surprised you’re even alive’ he said as he writing on his clipboard.

Mark eye’s shot out of his head because the guy spoke but his mouth didn’t move, “Um excuse me?” The worker looked up, confused, “Um didn’t you say something?”

The man tilted his head, “Ah no”

“Bu-But didn’t you say ‘Damn man I’m surprised you’re even alive’?” Mark sputtered

The worker gasped, “Holy crap did I say that out loud! I thought I said it in my head, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any disrespect” he quickly apologized

Mark immediately waved his hands, “No no no it’s alright but um how did you do that without moving your lips?” He said point to his own mouth.

The worker looked even more confused, “Huh? Dude you’re totally confusing me it’s kinda impossible for me to say something without moving my lips unless you were reading my mind” he laughed and he walked out the room.

Mark gasped silently, what the hell was happening?! Mark heard more talking outside the room and he leaned forward from his bed to look out. From his angle he couldn’t really see anyone but he could hear people, a lot of people talking. Is he going crazy?!

At that moment Jackson and BamBam came in, “Hey hyung” BamBam grinned and starting looking through his lunch tray.

Mark head shot up, “BamBam! Look outside for me; is there a lot of people in the hallway?” He quickly asked

BamBam snorted but looked out, “Not a lot just like three or four people”

“Is there people talking mad loud?” 

BamBam and Jackson looked at each other before looking at him, “Not really” BamBam answered

“Markie are you okay?” Jackson asked concerned

“No dude, I’m freaking out!” Mark exploded and the two went over to him, “I’ve been hearing people talking and in my mind I’m thinking people are just talking really loudly but it not. Then I had a nurse say something just she wasn’t moving .”

“Maybe she’s a ventriloquist” Jackson suggested and BamBam hit him.

“Hell no man, she didn’t have a dummy and she didn’t look like she was playing around.” Mark glared

“What did she say?” BamBam wondered

“First she said that she wants to leave this hospital, then just before she left she said she wish I was older so she could take a nibble out of me!” Mark sighed and Jackson gasped while BamBam muttered ‘ew', “Then after that, another guy came in and again he didn’t only his mouth when he said ‘Damn man I surprised you’re even alive.’ And when I mentioned it he said he thought he only said it in head!” 

Jackson ran his hand through his hair while BamBam jumped up and down, “Holy crap man you got superpowers!” He harshly whispered 

“What the dude! Mark doesn’t have superpowers” Jackson argued

“Oh come on Jackson-hyung, Mark-hyung is hearing people who aren’t moving their lips! He has the ability to read minds” BamBam cheered waving his hands in the air.

“Fine then Markie what am I thinking?” Jackson scoffed while crossing his arms. 

Mark wasn’t sure what to do but at all of a sudden he heard Jackson voice, “You think BamBam is a major idiot, you think I’m going crazy and thinking of mental institutions to suggest to my parents and that doctor you guys met on the elevator has a nice and you want him” Mark frowned, “Dude you”

Jackson gasped as he backed up and hit the wall, “ me? Dude what the ?! That’s some scary stuff!”

“H-holy y-you actually have superpowers” BamBam sputtered, “I was only playing around” he defended.

“Guys I’m scared” Mark whispered clutching the bed sheets.

Jackson slowly walked towards Mark and stood by his leg, “Don’t worry man, we’ll get through this”

“When the lighting hit your head it must’ve shock your temporal lobe, giving you enhanced ability to hear people’s thoughts” BamBam guessed. Mark and Jackson looked at him, “What? You and Park aren’t the only smart ones in the school” he huffed

Mark dismissed that last comment since the last thing he wanted to think about was Park Jinyoung, “So what now?” He questioned. 'You could go into show business’ BamBam thought. “Yah BamBam I’m not doing that!”

BamBam gasped, “Whoops sorry I forgot you can hear my thoughts” he apologized

“Well I don’t think you should tell anyone” Jackson spoke and Mark face asked ‘why?’ “Dude people will think you’re crazy”

“Jacks I am going crazy! I’m hearing people thoughts and I don’t know how to stop it or even tune it out.” Mark panted

“Okay okay, we’ll figure something out, together” Jackson assured

“Yeah man just because you’re a freak doesn’t mean we’ll abandon you” BamBam smirked and Jackson shoved him, “What?” Mark smiled, it made him happy that his friends would help him through this because he was sure if he was alone he would go insane.

After two months in the hospital, Mark was finally released. His body wasn’t as aching and the wonders of modern medicine took care of majority of his burns yet he still had branches on his body. But according to BamBam they were hot so Mark decided to make it nature’s tattoo.

During the two months, Jackson and BamBam searched online and through on books, searching for someone way to control his new ability. However it was easier said than done; there weren’t many articles or books that actually talked about how to control it and if it did, it had the craziest suggestions. At the end BamBam decided to turn to TV as a way to find the answer. Surprisingly there were a few good ones; practiced for as long as visiting hours allowed them to stay and Mark did some on his own.

However he wasn’t as successful as he thought he could be. It seemed that it was easier to control it when there were less people around but once Mark left the hospital, he was attacked by surrounding people’s thoughts. It was strange how it wasn’t as bad in the hospital but once he left that’s when it got really bad. He tried to tune it out but it wasn’t working well for him. He was glad to finally get home since the amount of thoughts that poured into his head lessened but he realize he was going to need a lot of practice before he went back to school.

School. Because of the strike Mark missed two month’s of school and if anything that truly pissed him off. It wasn’t that he was a nerd or anything, he was just a above average student that got excellent grades in class however there’s one student that always get a point or two higher than him. Park freaking Jinyoung. He doesn’t how the competition started but all of sudden some academic game began between the two and Park Jinyoung became his rival, his nemesis. 

Park Jinyoung just had to excel in everything Mark did; math, science, history, and even English like that his mother language. Jackson told him he was being dramatic but of all people Jackson really shouldn’t be talking about that. He knew he wasn’t being dramatic since Jinyoung would always check to see who did better; if it was him he would proudly boast about it or give some snarky comment. If Mark did better he would proclaim that the teachers purposely gave him that extra point as a sign of favoritism, which made no sense since the teacher liked both of them.

Although Mark was catching up on his schoolwork in hospital; he was sure that he was probably behind a couple points behind because of Jinyoung (being the dumba teacher’s pet). Now after two months of recovering Mark was finally heading back to school however he was slightly nervous about it. His ability still acted up at the worst times and the last thing he wanted was to be hearing multiple people while trying to pay attention. 

He got up to head to the bathroom to brush and shower and after 15 minutes he walked back into the bedroom to get dressed in his school uniform. He combed through his longer wet blond hair and wondered for a minute if he should get a hair cut but decided against it. He went downstairs where he found his parents sitting eating breakfast.

“Now Yi-En-” Mama Tuan began

“Yes Ma I promise that if I don’t feel good I’ll head straight to the nurse’s office” Mark smiled

Mama Tuan gasped, surprised that he knew, “You’ve been telling him that for weeks it’s not a big surprise” Papa Tuan chuckled. Mark could only nod, he didn’t know how to say that he actually read his mother mind. 

After sitting down and eating the pancakes his mother made for him, his father offered to drive him to school and Mark was truly blessed for that since he wasn’t sure if he could handle sitting on the bus with noisy minded students. His father drove him to school where he saw Jackson and BamBam wait for him at the enterance. He thanked Papa Tuan and ran up to met his friends. 

The moment he stepped on the school grounds, he felt his head pounding with the amount of words people were thinking. Why did people talk and think at the same time? Aren’t you suppose to think before you talk?

Jackson and BamBam stood by his sides, “Hey are you feeling?” BamBam asked

“Like jackhammer” Mark groaned, “These kids have the most nosiest thoughts”

“In case you’ve forgot Markie, you’re a kid too” Jackson smirked and Mark shoved him away. He went to locker to switch out his books and he heard a thumping next to him. Damn. Opening his locker more, he saw the last person he wanted to encounter.

“Hey Mark-ssi, I heard you’ve been sick these past two months, did you make something up just to skip out on school?” He laughed, “That’s not appropriate student behavior but I guess as second best it’s a behavior we should expect from you.”

Mark rolled his eyes, even though the school staff knew what really happened to him, he had his parents make sure that they didn’t reveal the true cause of his absence to the student body. “ you Park”

“Is that all you can comeback with? The illness must’ve made you dumber than you already were” Jinyoung scoffed, ’Markeu I missed you so much, I hope it wasn’t anything really bad’

Mark eyes widened; what the hell was that? “Shut up Park Jinyoung you don’t know , Mark was-” Jackson began

“Forget it Jacks, he don’t need to know” Mark scoffed as he closed his locker. Jinyoung still continued to smile as if he didn’t care. ‘What happened to him? Was his illness worse than what we were told?’ No that’s gotta be a mistake maybe he’s listening to someone else thoughts that has a similar voice to Jinyoung. Is that even possible? 

Mark shaked his head; there was no way that was Jinyoung actual thoughts, it was too nice. Mark walked away with BamBam and Jackson following him, “Mark what was that? You should’ve used your ability against him” BamBam groaned

“Oh god his mind must be filled with viscous comebacks; you could’ve totally used them against him” Jackson agreed 

“As much fun as that would be, I’d rather get through this day without passing out from everyone thought’s” Mark cringed

“Is it that bad?” Jackson wondered

“Hell yeah, I never heard so much , viscous smack talk and horrible secrets in my life.” Mark sighed

BamBam gasped “Oh my god with your ability you could rule the school!” Mark scoffed and rolled his eyes, of course BamBam would think of that.

They entered in their classroom and Mark took his seat at the second row by the window and Jackson and BamBam sat behind him. Minutes later the devil that is Jinyoung came in the room with Jaebum and Youngjae. Mark could never understand why Youngjae liked being around Jinyoung, he was pure hearted (even his thoughts were pure as he was humming row your boat) while Jinyoung was a devil in disguise. All he could guess the reason was, was because his boyfriend Jaebum was Jinyoung childhood best friend.

Jinyoung walked over and sat next to him with the couple sitting next to Jinyoung. It was strange to Mark that Jinyoung chose that seat, out of all the chairs in the room to sit in. But as much as he disliked the guy he wasn’t going to act childish over seating arrangements. 

As more people poured, the amount of talking increasing as well. He did his best to at least lower the volume so he could concentrate in class but it seemed that the universe felt like him over. The teacher walked in, talking about Mark reappearance and joy over seeing him well before moving on to the class topics.

Just as he was writing down notes, ‘Oh god he looks so hot’ Mark head shot up. Oh hell no. It can’t be. ‘How can anyone look so good as him?’ Oh please, oh please let that be about someone else. ‘Oh Mark don’t lip your lip like that. You’re driving me crazy!’ WHAT THE HELL?

Mark immediately released his lip and felt his ears heat up, ‘Oh no I didn’t actually mean baby boy. Oh he’s so cute when his ears turn red, I wonder what he’s thinking about?’ Mark wasn’t sure what to do at this moment because this was an actually thing. Park freakin' Jinyoung was thinking dirty thoughts about him! ‘I bet it’s something dirty, maybe about me? Oh baby boy, if you want me can take me.’

HELL NO. Never in his lifetime would he think that way about him! He opened his backpack and took out a bottle of water, hoping it would calm his rapidly beating heart. ‘Oh yeah drink that water, daddy’ Mark choked with the water sputtering out of his mouth and coughed loudly while Jackson hit his back.

“Is everything alright Mark?” The teacher asked concerned.

“Yup the water just went down the wrong way” Mark coughed, ‘Oh baby I’ll make sure it goes the right way and you have to take it all.’ Nope. Done. Mark fell to the floor as he fainted.