Jinyoung woke up after hearing the sound of the alarm. Only this time, it's not coming from the older's room. Reaching his arm out, he got his phone from the center table and turned the alarm off. He's now awake. Good thing, he has set an alarm. 

Unlike yesterday, he'd woken up earlier today. He checked the time, it's 9 in the morning. Yes, that's earlier. Compared to yesterday when he was just awakened by his growling stomach. Of course, his stomach will grumble, considering it was past 11 am already when he woke up!

He combed his morning hair with his fingers as he sat up, lazily. His head feels heavy, but as much as he wants to stay asleep for much longer, Jinyoung  knows he can't. He still has chores to do. The note beside his phone says so. Seems like Mark took his time to write down the chores which the younger has to accomplish for the day before leaving for work.

Wow. This man really knows how to exercise his power over him. Jinyoung thought. Mark could really fit well as a royalty, himself; considering he enjoys ordering people around. But these are all in Jinyoung's opinion of course.

Standing up, Jinyoung decided to make some pancakes for his breakfast before drowning himself with his day's work load.

***********

Jinyoung let out a deep breath as he sat back on the couch.

He just finished ironing Mark's suits which he presume the older will wear during his client meetings or conventions. It was around 3 in the afternoon when he finished all of the tasks Mark has given him.

His whole day was filled with nothing but work. A while ago, Jackson called him a few times but Jinyoung just answered once, saying that he's a bit tangled up with his chores and couldn't possibly spend time with the Chinese even if he wanted to. It was worth it though, now that he's finally done. Maybe, tomorrow, Mark would lessen his work load? Maybe he could spend some time with the guys. He can't wait to talk to Youngjae again because that man is smart, and he knows many things about Joseon. Youngjae somehow gives him a sense of comfort and familiarity, despite being stucked in this unfamiliar era.

Jinyoung checked on his phone to see if there's any text message. (yes, he already learned how to text). But there was nothing. Jackson may be busy with work, he thinks.

But if he'll be honest, Jinyoung finds it odd that Mark hasn't texted him by this time. Usually, during afternoons, Mark will text him, asking how he's doing inside the pad, and sometimes asks him what he wants to eat so the older will bring food when he reached home.

But today, there's none. Well, yesterday too. And the day before it.... and....  actually, it has been like this, since that afternoon.

Jinyoung remembers it clearly. How he enjoyed the warm afternoon, while playing with the cool waves of the sea. He didn't expect Mark to be the one to take him there, but he's thankful Mark did. He really enjoyed his time with the older. And a part of him is hoping for it to happen again.

But that night, as soon as they reached the hotel, Mark wasn't talking anymore. Well, actually, even back in the older's car, Mark stayed quiet and just focused on driving.

Being good in overthinking, Jinyoung tried to look back at what happened and tried to find out what he did wrong that made Mark so quiet. Even when the two of them were eating, Mark was weirdly silent. Only the clanking sound made by the spoons and forks breaks the awkward silence in every little while. 

Jinyoung tried to convince himself that Mark is just usually this quiet, and that he did nothing wrong. Unless, he made a big deal out of the younger splashing water on the older's face. But he doubts it, so he just told himself to leave Mark in peace, he might be tired, and tomorrow he'll be back to normal.

But the next day, Jinyoung woke up, at around 10 in the morning, alone. Mark has already left and didn't even bother to wake him up. 

That morning were followed by many more mornings, and that doesn't stop there! In evenings, when Mark goes back to his pad, he won't eat dinner and say that he already did before heading straight to his bedroom.

Jinyoung knows Mark is not the easiest one to deal with. But he doesn't think this is normal. Mark already warmed up to him, somehow. What made him so cold again?

*********

The clicking sound coming from the door woke Jinyoung up. 

It was already dark, not only from outside the window but inside the unit too because he didn't turn the lights on. Jinyoung shook his head, waking himself up fully. He just promised to get himself a short nap. But his nap twent on for five hours. He must've really been tired.

When the door opened, Jinyoung suddenly remembered that he wasn't able to take a shower for the whole day. God, he smells of sweat and hardwork.

Jinyoung was about to stand up and greet the older when he saw that Mark is not alone.

In the older's arm, a hand is gripping not too tightly and a thin figure is clicnging onto Mark. Glancing up, Jinyoung saw a woman wearing a black dress, looking elegantly beautiful. Beside her, Mark is staring at him.

"O-oh! I..." Jinyoung felt the need to speak but, he wasn't sure what he has to say. "I didn't know that-" 

"Who is he, Mark?" 

The lady asked in fluent english, batting her eyelashes at him. For the second time, Jinyoung didn't feel like the royalty he really is. Under the lady's gaze, Jinyoung somehow felt small.

Sparing him a short glance, Jinyoung saw how Mark took hold of the lady's hand which was clinging onto the older's arm. "He's a friend and he's crashing on my place beacuse he works at a nearby shop. It's convenient for him to stay here."

A soft "oh" escaped the lady's lips before resting her head against Mark's shoulder. "So where did we left off?" Smirking back, Mark nodded and led their way towards his bedroom, not uttering another word with him. 

The door has already closed but Jinyoung was still standing there where Mark has left him. 

A few moments later, he heard the same sounds he has heard that first night when he was into this era. The deep and guttural sounds coming from the other side of Mark's door started to intensify, making Jinyoung close his eyes tightly. Why is he even here, while Mark is doing god knows what inside his room with that lady? 

With a hiss, Jinyoung got a new set of clothes and walked his way to the bathroom. He the shower, letting the sound of water drown out what he was hearing from the older's room.

*********

"Is Mark at work?" 

Jackson asked while they were eating.

It's a usual day. And nowadays, a usual day for Jinyoung is a whole day of working, and a whole night of blocking his ears from the disturbing sound coming from Mark's room.

That night, was only the start of it, apparently. Since then, Mark has always been bringing ladies home with him to spend the night and leave in the wee hours in the morning. As much to Jinyoung's disagreement, he still gets to witness all that.

And as usual, Mark will leave for work without even talking to him, just giving him the tasks which he needs to finish by the end of the day. 

Today is no different. And since Jinyoung decided that he never wants to be disturbed during evenings again, he opted to call and meet up with Jackson after he finished his tasks. So now, here he is, eating dinner with Jackson.

"I don't kn