Mark pulled GuacMan onto the dirt path leading to the area where he and Jackson typically operated on weeknights when there wasn't a special event elsewhere for them to nab customers from. It had been a good find on their part—it was between a small but popular park and a local art gallery, so they got quite a bit of foot traffic on a regular basis, ranging from parents with their children to artsy types who needed to fill up before hitting the gallery where no food was allowed. They also got a steady stream of high school girls who were interested in flirting—Jackson flirted back because he could somehow flirt with literally everyone including old women and pets without it crossing a line, and Mark simply pretended it wasn't happening, which somehow made him even more attractive to them since he was 'hard to get'.

Mark arrived, as always, before the real rush hit so that he would have time to set up his ingredients and fire up his equipment. He could see Jackson doing the same in Wang Chinese, though it seemed like he had an additional passenger with him today. It was the guy from the picture on his phone, the new boyfriend—Jaebum? They seemed to be incredibly touchy from just a quick glance, and Mark stuck out his tongue in disgust. He hoped he wouldn't be forced to watch them getting handsy the whole evening.

He parked in his spot across from Jackson and hopped back to open the concession shutter. Jackson and Jaebum immediately turned to look at him, and Mark knew that if he gave Jackson an opening, it would be instant interrogation about how things had gone down with Jinyoung yesterday, which Mark was determined not to think of until he absolutely had to.

“Hey, Jackson, are you going to introduce me?” he called out before Jackson could say anything.

“As long as you don't fall for him too,” Jackson said. Jaebum smacked him upside the head. “This is my y bae Im Jaebum. Jaebum, this is my BFF Mark.”

“Hey,” Mark said.

“Hey,” Jaebum said back. They nodded at each other, and a silent agreement to get along without any needless instances of getting territorial seemed to pass between them.

“Are you going to be helping out Jackson today?” Mark asked.

“Not really. I don't cook. But I thought I'd watch and see what it's like. Keep an eye on him.”

“Have fun with that. I don't think he's ever had a customer he didn't flirt with.”

Jaebum turned to Jackson with narrowed eyes.

“It's all innocent, I swear,” Jackson said, waving his hands defensively. “Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Tuan!”

“Just returning a few favors, Wang.”

“Look, Jaebum, if I accidentally flirt with someone, you can just punish me for it later. With kisses or something?”

“Oh, are my kisses punishment now?” Jaebum asked.

“Uh...no...I just want them, so I thought I'd go for it?”

“How about I kick you in the every time you flirt?”

“Are those boots you're wearing steel toed?”

“Would you like to find out?”

“...I won't flirt.”

Mark smiled to himself. He was pretty sure those two would be kept busy with their little back-and-forth, and if that meant Jackson wasn't pestering him with questions, that was just fine. Unfortunately for him, Jackson pressed his hand over Jaebum's mouth and leaned across the counter. “Yo, Mark, was last night an absolute disaster or no?”

“That's how you're going to ask?” Mark grumbled.

“I'm just worried because Jinyoung messaged me something this morning that makes me think you were being a typical total downer when you were with him.”

Mark felt the blood drain from his face, and he dropped the bag of shredded lettuce he'd been carrying onto his foot. “H-He said something to you?”

“Sure did. Hold on a sec.” Jackson moved to the front of his truck and popped out the door to cross over to GuacMan. He extended his phone to Mark so he could look at the chat page from his dating app. Jinyoung had messaged him early that morning, at 8:30 AM:

Jinyoung: Who broke Mark's heart in the past?

Jackson: A guy named Choi Youngjae. Why?

(Read)

Mark froze, multiple questions and varying reactions hitting him all at once. The strongest among them burst out of his mouth first: “Why did you have to tell him that?”

“Because he asked,” Jackson responded defensively. “And I mean, you must have eluded to it, if he asked. How many times do I have to tell you not to whine about your ex around other guys?”

“I didn't! I didn't mention Youngjae once...at least not directly!”

“Well, he must have smelled the gloom coming off you somehow. You do kind of reek of it sometimes. Eau de living in the past.”

“God, now he's going to think I'm still in love with Youngjae or something,” Mark groaned. “ it, Jackson, you didn't have to tell him.”

“Well, even if you're not in love with Youngjae, you haven't exactly moved on completely, so same difference.” Jackson tilted his head. “So...does the fact you don't want Jinyoung to know about it mean you liked Jinyoung or something?”

“No,” Mark snapped. “It was awkward and weird just like I told you it would be. Jinyoung absolutely won't be interested in seeing me again, and that's fine with me. But it's not like I want him to think of me as this depressed ex-obsessed weirdo, because...because he'll joke about it with the next person he dates and I hate thinking about people making fun of me behind my back.”

“Well. He clearly thought you were an ex-obsessed weirdo on his own,” Jackson quipped. “I just supplied him with a name. How's he going to know who Choi Youngjae is, Youngjae's all the way in Mokpo?”

“Choi Youngjae?” Jaebum said from behind them. “I know Choi Youngjae.”

Jackson and Mark both turned around very slowly. “E-Excuse me?” Mark said.

“Choi Youngjae. There's a Choi Youngjae in my Sociology class.”

“But that has to be a pretty common name in Korea, right?” Jackson pressed.

“I mean, it's not rare or anything, but not super common. He's our age, a really good singer, and laughs at the volume of a jet engine?”

Mark felt his legs going weak, and quickly propped himself up on the counter. “He's back,” he said bleakly. There was no way there were two Choi Youngjaes prowling around the area with the exact same ungodly loud laugh.

“Oh,” Jackson said, looking unsure of what to do with his expression. “Well...maybe that's a good thing? Jaebum, is Youngjae still single?”

“As far as I know.”

“Then maybe you could rekindle the romance,” Jackson said hopefully. “If that's what you want.”

“No,” Mark snapped, a lot more angrily than he meant to. “I'm not doing that again. And clearly he doesn't want to either, if he didn't tell me he was coming back.”

“All right. Fine. It's kind of weird, though. I know you took it hard, but you broke up pretty amicably, no big fight or anything. I wonder why he didn't tell you. Huh.” Jackson chewed on his lip, then decided upon giving Mark a comforting pat on the back. “Try not to let this news bother you, Mark. The objective here is for you to have a date which you don't ruin by acting emotionally unavailable, OK?”

With another sympathetic pat on the back, he went back to Wang Chinese to finish setting up. Mark felt like he was going to be sick. Youngjae was back. The whole basis for their break up was that Youngjae had decided they weren't going to be able to sustain a long distance relationship in the long term, and now he was back, only a few years after he'd left in the first place. How was Mark supposed to feel about that? He was sure he wasn't in love with Youngjae anymore—modestly sure, at least—but the whole thing had remained an anchor on his heart since it had ended. He had been so embittered by the conclusion that it had poisoned him against the entire thing, from start to finish.

And what if he did run into Youngjae again? He'd really liked him in the past. Really, really liked him, actually loved him, though he hadn't vocalized it very much, not even to himself. Time had distanced him from the feeling, but what if it came back? What if he fell in love with Youngjae all over again and got to taste that beautiful beginning of being in love and utterly crazy for someone only to have it destroyed a second time? What would that do to him?

He tried to brush it off as the customers started popping up, full of smiles and wanting their tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. He emptied his mind and pasted a smile on his face, mindlessly laughing at the cute little kids asking for “boo-eat-ohs” and making generic small talk about the new showcase in the gallery. But in the back of his mind, he kept on wondering if that wild and vibrant laugh would ever sound through the crowd and how much it would hurt if he heard it again.

“Hey, I wanted to try one of the legendary tacos here for myself,” another familiar voice said, interrupting his painful zone out. Mark snapped his head up, his eyes widening. Park Jinyoung was standing in front of his food truck, looking up at him with a small smile.

“J-Jinyoung?” Mark stammered, his face heating up and his heart taking an abrupt nosedive into the bottom of his stomach. “What are you doing here?”

“I just told you. I wanted to try a handmade-by-Mark taco.”

“How did you even know where to find me?”

Jinyoung pointed to the side of the truck. “You have your primary address and hours painted right on here. I made note of them last night.”

“Oh,” Mark said. He stared at Jinyoung, continuing to blink stupidly. He still couldn't figure out the why part, but wasn't sure if it would be considered rude or pathetic to ask outright.

“So...are you going to make me a taco?” Jinyoung asked, lifting an eyebrow. “I'm planning on paying you, in case you're worried.”

“R-Right. What kind did you want?”

“Soft shell. Korean beef. Whatever toppings you recommend. A side of chips.”

“A moment please.” Mark looked up warily towards Wang Chinese. Jackson had largely spent the evening either yelling “OW, MY BEAUTIFUL !” when Jaebum nailed him with a kick or accepting Jaebum's unexpectedly affectionate back hugs when there weren't any customers which inevitably ended in pretty intense make out sessions under the counter until a customer came and Jackson popped his head back up, but now he was staring at Mark with wide eyes, frantically mouthing “IS THAT HIM? IS THAT JINYOUNG?” Mark wasn't going to dignify it with a response. What he really wanted to do was open up a trapdoor and hide underground until everything went away, Jinyoung included. Unfortunately, he hadn't thought to build one into his truck.

So he got to work on the taco instead, focusing on the methodical task of preparation and pretending that Jinyoung was some rando he didn't know. It wasn't working all that well. Jinyoung was leaning curiously over the counter to watch what Mark was doing, and he smelled really good, like fabric softener and fresh sheets.

He still couldn't process why Jinyoung had come. Had Mark's description of his menu the night before really enticed Jinyoung with the prospect of a good meal? But even if it had, Jinyoung would still never come if he'd disliked Mark to the point of never wanting to see him again. Which meant he didn't mind seeing him again, which meant...what? That he actually wanted a second date? That he thought Mark was at least tolerable friend material, even if he wasn't worth dating?

“How has business been today?” Jinyoung asked conversationally. “I was watching you serving a few customers earlier, and it seemed pretty active.”

“How long have you been here?” Mark asked in alarm.

“Just five minutes. I was waiting for it to calm down a little so I could talk to you without holding up the line. Also, watching Jackson with his boyfriend was entertaining. They're cute together.”

“They're certainly noisy,” Mark grumbled.

“I couldn't tell you were bothered. You've got a really beautiful customer service smile. Although you seem to be forgetting it for me.”

Mark attempted a smile, but it seemed so forced that he abandoned it halfway through. Jinyoung snorted in amusement. “Sorry, I was just really caught off guard by you showing up,” Mark quipped.

“Well, if I'd warned you I was coming, you'd have probably driven off. And I don't actually have a way of communicating with you. You never gave me your number.”

“You never asked for it.”

“I thought you'd throw your water in my face and run if I tried.”

Mark was beginning to feel a little peeved that Jinyoung was making fun of him so much. “I'm not the freaking cowardly lion, all right?”

“I know. You're just fun to tease. Please don't throw your spatula at me.” Jinyoung lifted his hands in surrender, grinning. “So, wanna give me your number now, oh brave one?”

Mark winced, feeling backed into a corner. If he didn't give it, Jinyoung was absolutely going to tear into him. But if he gave it...he didn't really know what the result would be. Would Jinyoung text him memes or something? A nightly 3AM “wyd?”

Better just to let him have it, Mark thought. He didn't actually have to answer anything he didn't want to. There were no laws against ignoring texts, thank god. “If you insist,” he said. He gave Jinyoung his number as he continued to make the taco as if it was the most casual, meaningless thing in the world.

As soon as he was done with the taco, he foisted it into Jinyoung's hands, glad to send him on his way so he could collect himself. “It's on the house,” he muttered. “To make up for you paying yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Don't fight me on it.”

“I won't. Thank you.” Jinyoung glanced behind him. More customers were approaching, so he'd have to get out of the way. “I have high expectations for this. I'll be reporting back.”

“Take your time,” Mark said. His stomach was churning again, which was bad because according to Jackson he got the most ridiculous expression on his face when he needed to use the restroom. He attempted a feeble customer service smile, but it fell incredibly flat.

“Keep working on that,” Jinyoung said encouragingly. “I want to graduate from 'looking at Jinyoung makes me want to puke' to 'looking at Jinyoung is almost bearable'.”

Mark surprised himself by actually laughing at that. He was finally getting the sense that Jinyoung wasn't teasing him to make him feel bad but to make the atmosphere around them more comfortable. And that wouldn't be too terrible, he realized. Better to stop acting so edgy and giving himself a stomachache when he could just get over himself and behave like a functioning person.

Jinyoung smiled in delight at the sound of his laughter. “There. Wasn't so hard, was it?” With a little wave, he ambled off towards the park with his taco. Mark watched him go for a second, then turned to his incoming customer with a wide, fairly natural smile.

After serving a big group of university students heading towards the gallery, there was at last a lull. Mark checked his cell phone by force of habit, and was shocked by the slew of messages. Most were from Jackson demanding to know everything Jinyoung had done and said and accusing him of deliberately not telling him that Jinyoung was planning to come as if Mark himself had any prior knowledge, but one text was from an unknown number, presumably Jinyoung: “Can I go inside the truck?”

Mark's face flushed, and he hurriedly answered. “We're not supposed to let anyone around the food who isn't a certified member of our staff...and I don't have any staff.”

Jinyoung responded quickly. “Jackson has the BF inside his truck. And I'm not planning on touching the food. I just want to watch. And chat. Or do you want me to stand in front of your truck and block all your customers? :p”

God, this guy was surprisingly sinister. Mark ground his knuckles into the counter and took a breath. “Fine,” he texted back. “But you're going to need to wash your hands and put on an apron and hair net as soon as you set foot in.”

A second later, Jinyoung had responded back: “Will do, boss!”

Mark shoved his phone back in his pocket and did some more breathing exercises. “What the was last night, and what the is today?” he muttered to himself. Next thing he knew Jackson was going to announce he was pregnant or something and Youngjae was going to swing by and offer to elope.

Jinyoung showed up a minute later and hopped right into the truck as if it were his house. “That was really good,” he said as he grabbed for Mark's extra apron. “Great texture, and the toppings were perfect. I'm a fan.”

“Hnnnn,” Mark said in a strangled voice.

“Come on, you actually smiled at me a little earlier. Can we move on from the grunting now?”

In spite of himself, Mark managed a little smile. “Sorry, I've just never had anyone in here with me that wasn't Jackson.”

“I'll be good. And quiet. And quietly supportive. You've got more customers on the way.” Jinyoung took a seat on the little stool in the back, and Mark turned back toward the concession shutter. A teenage girl wanted a quesadilla and her grandmother wanted some chips. It quickly descended into the grandmother cooing “Aigoooo, isn't he just the handsomest boy you've ever seen? Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could find a boyfriend like that?” while the girl almost died of embarrassment. After they'd left, a male jogger who was a regular of Mark's dropped by for his weekly taco and occupied Mark in a quick conversation about the latest mobile game he'd been trying out, since they were both into that. After him was a foreign tourist who seemed relieved that Mark was fluent in English and pumped him for advice on the best route to the bike rental shop from where they were.

At long length, there was another lull. Mark had half forgotten that Jinyoung was even there until he cleared his throat behind him, causing him to jump a little.

Jinyoung was looking at him with wide eyes, and there was something almost melancholy about his gaze. “It's like you're a completely different person,” he said quietly. “Bright and animated and relaxed. Don't get me wrong, I like the nervous and awkward Mark too, but I'm feeling kind of bad right now. Why do I make you uncomfortable and never as easygoing as you just were?”

Mark also felt kind of bad—Jinyoung looked genuinely hurt. “Look,” he said frankly. “I didn't go on a date with those people last night only to have them show up randomly after it didn't go all that well. I know how to deal with them. You, I have no idea how to deal with. I can't even wrap my head around why you're even here.”

This unexpectedly made Jinyoung brighten up. “Oh, is that all? Then by all means, don't think of me in terms of dates or dating. Last night was just one of those things. Put it out of your mind. Let's start with a blank state, if that's what it takes for you to get used to me. I'm perfectly fine with that.”

“I don't think it'll be that easy.”

“You could at least give it a try.” Jinyoung popped out of his stool and joined Mark by the counter. “I completely get it, all right? You met me under weird circumstances, and it's hard to just forget about that. But I'm just another human being on the planet like Jackson or his boyfriend or those people you just talked to. Us talking like this doesn't have to be weird at all.” His eyes got a little kittenish. “Please?”

“Do you have no friends or something?”

“I have plenty of friends. Do I have to stop making them after a certain number?”

Mark folded his arms across his chest, studying Jinyoung for a moment. What the hell was his endgame here? Had he really left with a good enough impression of Mark last night to want to befriend him, or did he just feel sorry for him?

Jinyoung looked back at him with perfect innocence. He did seem like a genuinely nice person. A bit savage and devious at times, but nice overall. Maybe if he did manage to get over the initial awkwardness caused by Jackson attempting to set them up, they could potentially be something like friends.

“Whatever,” Mark said as his answer. “You seem dead set on hanging around, so why not?”

“That's the spirit!” Jinyoung pumped his fist. “And just in time, more customers are on the way. Would you mind showing me how to make the perfect burrito, please?”

Jinyoung was still hanging around by time they wrapped up for the evening. Jackson and Jaebum at last were able to pop over and stick their noses in, which they seemed to have been dying to do for hours judging by the never-ending stream of messages on his cell phone.

“Soooo, you must be Jinyoung, right?” Jackson asked, sticking out his hand. “Nice to meet you in person.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Jinyoung said. Before he could shake Jackson's hand, Jaebum butted in with a mildly threatening glare. “Oh—uh, I have no intention of interfering with your boyfriend, so you don't have to do that. I'm happy for you two. Truly.”

“Yeah, yeah, calm down, Jaebum,” Jackson said, massaging him a little on the shoulders. “Jinyoung quite obviously did not come here to see me. Did you have fun with our lovely Mark?”

“It definitely was interesting to see the process firsthand,” Jinyoung said with a nod. “And Mark's customer service skills need to be seen to be believed.”

“Oh, trust me, he's wildly popular,” Jackson said dramatically. “I'm pretty sure he has his own fanclub at this point. If you want to sign up.”

Mark tossed a tomato at Jackson's face, but Jinyoung waved his hands in dismissal. “All right, Jackson, I've heard you're a joker, but let's not tease Mark, OK? I've done enough of that for one day, and you'll only make him go back to being weird again.”

“Go back? Hate to tell you this, but Mark is never not weird.”

“Hey, Jaebum,” Mark said through grit teeth.

“Yeah?” Jaebum was still eying Jinyoung with suspicion.

“Could you go take Jackson out of my sight and make out with him or something?”

“Yup.” Jaebum dutifully grabbed hold of Jackson and yanked him back to Wang Chinese.

“CALL ME LATER!” Jackson yelled, putting up a token struggle before being tackled into his truck.

“How did you two ever wind up becoming best friends?” Jinyoung wanted to know.

“I honestly don't even know anymore,” Mark said with a shrug. “But I like him, in spite of it all.”

“Well, that's encouraging.” Jinyoung grabbed a dishrag and started to help Mark wipe down the counter. “Hey, would you mind grabbing a coffee with me after this? We didn't actually get to talk all that much, considering that entire soccer team of kids you had to take care of.”

“Isn't it a little late for coffee?” Mark asked. He was slowly warming up to Jinyoung, but he still kind of wanted to go home. He also still hadn't been able to fully erase all the “date” associations attached to Jinyoung so easily, and going for coffee would risk adding further associations in his mental tally.

“Is it?” Jinyoung glanced at his watch. “Hot chocolate, then? Smoothies?”

Mark hesitated for a moment, but swallowed his feeble protests back. “Hot chocolate would be fine. Just for a half-hour or so.”

“All right. Let's finish cleaning, then.”

When the counter was satisfactory and the ingredients safely stored, Mark shuttled them over to the nearest cafe. He grabbed his wallet, but then paused for a moment. Was Jinyoung going to take issue since he'd comped his taco earlier?

“Let's just pay for our own drinks this time,” Jinyoung said quickly. “I'll take care of ordering. You grab us some chairs.”

Mark settled for some near the window. It wasn't as date-like as the secluded arm chairs in the corner, and if he happened to get weird, the window would give him an excuse to zone out and collect his thoughts.

Jinyoung returned a moment later with their mugs of hot chocolate. Mark took a sip, enjoying the sweetness of it and the welcome dollop of whipped cream on top.

“So,” Jinyoung said out of the blue. “Tell me about Youngjae.”

Mark spit out the hot chocolate he'd been drinking, practically choking. Jinyoung quickly grabbed his napkin and wiped up Mark's chin. “Sorry, that probably wasn't the best timing,” he said.

“Is there a good time to pull that one out on me?” Mark rasped, furiously wiping his lips. “Jesus.”

“Are you surprised I knew about him?”

“No. Jackson told me you'd asked. But you're actually going to make me talk about this?”

“Yes?”

“You don't think it might be, I don't know, a sensitive subject?”

“Is it?”

“Oh, of course not!” Mark said sarcastically. “Let's have a nice long discussion about our favorite exes! It'll be fun!”

Jinyoung smiled wryly. “OK, I know it was tactless of me to ask. But here I am, asking. Maybe I'm just a tactless person.”

“Clearly.” Mark glared down at the table darkly. “Just to get it out of the way, then. I started dating Youngjae when I was...14, 15ish, maybe? When we were 17, his family had to move back to Mokpo. He thought we weren't fit for a long distance relationship and we broke up. Mutually, I guess. Haven't seen him since. End of story.” Mark decided not to mention that Youngjae was back in town. He still wasn't sure how he was going to deal with that even without bringing Jinyoung into it.

Jinyoung titled his head. “It sounds like you broke up on good terms, then. But you're still this hung up on it?”

“What makes you think I'm hung up on it?”

“I got this vibe from you yesterday, but talking to you today confirmed it. You're a really warm and happy person naturally. You smile and joke and let loose. But when there's even a whiff of romance in the air in regards to yourself, you look like you're suffering from a bad case of constipation. I figured there had to be a good reason for that.”

“Gee thanks, Jinyoung.”

“I'm just telling you how I see it. And I worried that there was someone out there who'd messed you up really bad, especially since you said yesterday that a bad experience had colored your opinion of dating entirely. Are you sure that break up was actually mutual?”

Mark leaned back in his chair, frowning. “Why do you need to worry about this? It's my business.”

“It is your business. But...” He trailed off, looking solemn. “It would be kind of sad. If you just gave up all relationships because of one relationship. It would be really, really unfortunate.”

“A huge loss to the dating market as we know it,” Mark said, rolling his eyes a little. “I was telling the truth when I told you I found the whole dating thing exhausting yesterday, all right? And it's all so futile. What's so great about giving years of your life to a person only to have the whole thing ruined when it ends? I mean, I used to think falling in love with him was the happiest moment of my life, and now I can barely even think of that moment without wanting to break something. I lost every single thing that was ever good about it.”

“I suppose that's one way of looking at it,” Jinyoung mused. “But you're acting like you gained nothing from the relationship and that your ex also surrendered everything he gained from you. And that can't be right. If you look at it from another perspective, you must have made a lot of memories and learned a lot of things about yourself and about him. It wasn't like you threw away everything and kept nothing, right?”

“Oh sure, I made plenty of memories. Beautiful memories that turned into ing nightmares on me. How am I supposed to be happy about being left with that?”

“I don't know,” Jinyoung said simply. “I guess that's just the proof you were in love. And when you get to feel love, it can't possibly be a complete loss, right?”

“You're rather optimistic.”

“I guess. I mean, I have a few exes, too, and though I didn't particularly enjoy breaking up with most of them, I'm glad I did.”

“Why?”

“Because I get to be single right now and free to find someone who won't want to break up with me. I'm willing to give it all the tries it takes.”

“Well,” Mark said, washing down the slightly bitter taste in his throat with some hot chocolate. “We can't all have your good attitude.”

“No, I guess that would be asking too much.” Jinyoung downed his own drink. “Whatever the case is, it's not all the way bad that you feel like this. I think it just shows the kind of heart you have. You love people very deeply and very personally. That isn't so terrible.”

“It feels like it is, sometimes.”

“That's because you've experienced the bad side of it. When you experience the good side, I'm sure you'll feel differently.” He cleared his throat. “Anyways, now that we've gotten all serious, I want to say something else.”

“Yeah?” Mark asked, feeling a little wary.

“You complained about me hanging around earlier, but that's exactly what I'm intending on doing. I think you're an interesting person and right now, I want to spend time with you. And I'm OK with that being on your terms. I want to hang out with the Mark that smiles more than he looks constipated.”

“Uhh....”

“Is that a problem?”

“I still don't get why.”

“It's the same thing as you not really knowing why you're friends with Jackson. You just want to keep being friends with him. Same here. I want to keep knowing you. I want to continue our acquaintance. Is that so shocking?”

“In my life, a little bit.”

“Then I'm fine being a bit shocking. There's just one thing I want to ask of you, in return.”

“What, you're bargaining with me? I haven't actually agreed on the first part.”

“No, but I have a feeling you're going to.” Jinyoung grinned a little. “I just want your word that you're not going to ghost me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Because I get the feeling if I step even a centimeter over the line you have drawn in your head, you're going to disappear without a trace and cease to exist while pretending like I never existed either. But I'm real, all right? You can't do that, and if you try, I'm not going to let you get away with it. So don't even bother, all right?”

“Do you usually do this when you make friends?” Mark asked. “It's kind of scary.”

“I've never made friends with a potential flight risk before, so no. You seem to be a special case.” Jinyoung rose to his feet. “Drive me home?”

“Wait, wait, wait. You seemed to have come to an arrangement with me without me saying yes to anything you said. And now we're done here?”

“I recall that you were the one who gave us only thirty minutes. They're already up. Come on.”

Once again, Mark felt himself completely knocked off-kilter by Jinyoung, but followed him outside and into his truck nonetheless. What the was tonight, even, Part II, he thought to himself. Was every evening going to be like this from now on? Was that a bad thing or a good thing?

He drove Jinyoung home again, and once again the two of them were fairly silent. When Mark glanced at Jinyoung out of the corner of his eye, he realized that Jinyoung actually seemed a little less composed than normal. He looked as if he was doing breathing exercises, and he was sitting on his hands, the rest of his body a bit rigid. Mark wondered why that was. He'd seemed fairly confident and in control until now.

But when he pulled up to Jinyoung's place and glanced over again, Jinyoung seemed perfectly relaxed. He smiled at Mark in the same soft way as last time, and again took one of Mark's hands in both of his and squeezed it. “Sweet dreams, Mark,” he said again. “But not too sweet.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't want you to regret having to wake up.” He squeezed his hand once more and let go. “Thanks for today. Until next time, OK?”