four.

Unfaithful

After a rough explanation of the situation to the group, Mark and Nayeon could only stay silent on the floor as the whole group of their friends' attention were on them. They knew the moment they open their mouth to say anything, they would be in deep trouble.

"So." Mark cleared his throat eventually.

"Shut up." Jeongyeon, who's on the couch between Jinyoung and Jaebum, cut him off; her arms folded across her chest and a look of obvious unhappiness on her face. "Let me kill you mentally in peace first."

Upon those words, Nayeon could only hug her knees closer to her with her face buried against them.

"Nayeon, look up." This time Jaebum was the one who called her out.

Hearing how firm Jaebum's voice was, Nayeon had no choice but to do what he had instructed; her gaze meeting his and that made her want to just disappear on the spot. But instead, she gave him a nervous smile.

"Jaebum... oppa." She added at the end, hoping that it would make him looked less stern and scary.

"Not working."

An uncomfortable silence took over Bambam's living room again and     even though it's his place, he knew he couldn't take charge of anything right now. Standing beside the couch, he looked up and met Jihyo's worried gaze. Jeongyeon still had her eyes on Mark making the latter nervous and uncomfortable. Was she really coming up with different ways to murder him in her mind?

Jinyoung had his back against the couch, his arms folded too and even though he looked relaxed, everyone could recognize that serious look on his face. It seldom appeared and when it did, a fight would usually happen.

That's exactly what Jihyo and Bambam were worried about.

"So," Mark started again, this time a lot more careful than earlier. "Stop glaring at us and say anything you want to."

"You ." Jeongyeon was the first one who replied him again. Her two words caught everyone's attention, which they turned to look at her. Even Jinyoung sat up straight.

"Jeongyeon!" Jihyo whispered harshly (even though she kind of agreed with her) but Jeongyeon ignored her completely.

"How could you do this?" Jeongyeon continued, raising her voice slightly. Both Jinyoung and Jaebum had to hold onto her shoulder on each side especially when she looked like she's about to punch Mark in his face.

"And you!" She pointed at Nayeon this time. "How could you do this to Minhyuk and Sana?"

"We will tell them..." Mark answered for Nayeon.

"I'm talking to Nayeon!" Jeongyeon interrupted Mark for the second time of that night and no one dared to actually stop her. Jeongyeon never really have a temper but whenever she did, it's dangerous.

"We will tell them," Nayeon repeated Mark's words but she hesitated for a short while before she continued, a lot softer than before. "Eventually."

"Eventually?" Jaebum started this time, beating Jeongyeon to it. "I stay on my stand, either you tell them now or you end this."

"And I stay on mine," Mark met his gaze with Jaebum's, his voice as firm as the latter. "There're too many things to consider. No one else knew about us except you guys, like I said, are we going to drop two bombs on them at once? What about the media?"

"Then you should have thought about this when the both of you decided to jump into this mess!"

"Uh so." Bambam started quietly and with a slight bit of hesitancy before anyone else could add in more fuel to the growing fire. After all, he's still the youngest among everyone present. "Don't kill me but I'm on their side."

"Don't get mad!" He quickly defended himself, holding his hands out as if it would shield him from the glare of Jaebum and Jeongyeon. He saw Jihyo facepalming herself from the corner of his eye but since he had already voiced out his thoughts, might as well just go all out.

"They are happy." That was the first strong statement he threw out. "I see Mark hyung almost everyday and it's just different. He's happier and it seems like we are getting the old Mark of GOT7 back. Admit it, you don't see that anymore after their break up. And Jeongyeon noona, Nayeon's smiling a lot more, right?"

Jeongyeon kept silent, unable to find any words to counter back because she knew that what Bambam said is true.

"Bambam's right." This time it's Jinyoung who voiced out. "It's not like I agree that it's the right thing to do. But let's look at it this way, they are happy. I don't know about you but I got so frustrated watching them after Mark came back. So, let's think this through."

Still, no one said anything. Mark and Nayeon were too surprised to say anything. It's unbelievable that Jinyoung's on their side. As for the others, they knew what the both of them had said made sense too.

"It's true I almost wanted to punch Mark hyung during Younghyun hyung's wedding. But I'm not that ignorant to not realize that he was ultra silent after his conversation with noona. He's literally mute."

"They're right, let's think this through."

"Jihyo, you too?" Jaebum turned to look at the female in disbelief.

"Nayeon's happy. Mark oppa is the Mark we all knew. We all know that Nayeon's the one who made him talk more when we were trainees. It's not something we can just pretend never happened."

Jinyoung and Bambam both nodded to Jihyo's words.

"Jeongyeon, please tell me you're not considering that too." Jaebum sighed in defeat since Jeongyeon's been silent after Bambam voiced out his thoughts. However, before Jeongyeon could even give him a reply, the ringing of the phone distracted everyone.

"Who in the world-"

"I'm sorry," Nayeon smiled sheepishly as she held up her phone. "It's my manager."

Taking her chance, she scurried to a side to pick up the call. It wasn't a long conversation but she grabbed her bag right after.

"She said it's important. I have to go now."

"Nayeon, it's almost mid-"

"Jeongyeon, get either Jihyo or one of the boys to drive you back. I'm going first!" Nayeon waved and headed to the door without giving anyone a chance to protest.

"Im Nayeon, are you seriously leaving me here? Alone?" Mark called out just when Nayeon was going to step out from the apartment. "They look like a pack of wolves and I'm that ing prey."

"You're living in this apartment now beside, Bambam and Jinyoung's on your side, fighting!"

With those words and the insincere cheer she gave Mark, Nayeon slammed the door shut.

"You got abandoned." Jinyoung joked, leaning back against the couch again. "Anyone could tell that that girl's lying. Her manager isn't the kind to meet Nayeon in the middle of the night."

"I got abandoned too." Jeongyeon muttered grudgingly, glaring at the door subconsciously. But Nayeon's actions had managed to ease the tension a little. "So where were we?"

"You guys decided to help keep it a secret." Mark took this chance to conclude it in his own way, half serious and half joking. "Just for a while, I swear."

"If you make her cry or hurt her, I will kill you with my own bare hands."

Mark smiled when Jeongyeon finally gave in.

"I won't, I promise."

"I will end up being the bad guy if I don't agree right?" Jaebum sighed, shaking his head in despair. He still found the whole situation ridiculous but he also knew that there's no way to argue with any of them.

Because what they said are true.

"It's just a short while, okay?" Jaebum's tone got firm again when he pointed his finger at Mark, forgetting that the other's older than himself. "This is not like the old days; this is wrong. I can't believe I just agreed to this."

"Just a short while."

That was the start of their sinful hide and seek.


The few of them had kept their words and helped keep the whole secret affair to just themselves. There were times when Jaebum started doubting what he's doing and almost wanted to tell the truth to Minhyuk and Sana.

However, he had also always held himself back. It was a debate within himself.

Everytime he tried to do so, the smiling faces and the laughter of both Mark and Nayeon came to his mind. The fact that all of them could gather together again was one of the reasons why he kept his words. And whenever they do, the awkwardness was completely gone.

Jaebum sighed, shaking his head furiously as if he's trying to get rid of the thought of betraying his two close friends. He could feel Sana's gaze on him, probably wondering what is wrong but instead, Jaebum put on an apologetic smile and told her another lie.

"I'm sorry Sana, Mark said nothing about his schedule lately. Have you not been meeting him?"

Jaebum mentally cursed at himself for coming up with another lie on the spot. Minhyuk had once asked him if Nayeon was that busy since they hadn't been meeting up as much. And Jaebum had made up an excuse for her on the spot too.

Why couldn't they ask another person?

"It's been a week." Sana's voice brought him back from his thoughts. "He never said much about it, I was just worried that something cropped up with his new branch in Japan since there was no update from him at all."

"Yeah, he did mention that he would be heading down to Japan recently. He probably had already flown down. You can check with Bambam, Mark's currently staying at his place. You probably already know that."

Another lie.

"Mark hyung's indeed at Japan now." Jaebum had never been so relief to hear Jinyoung's voice. "I told you to check the group chat more."

Jinyoung purposely directed the last line to Jaebum.

Another lie to cover up the two previous lies.

"Don't you have practices, Sana?" Jinyoung changed the topic in such a casual way that Jaebum couldn't help but be in awe at his best friend. If not for their twenty years friendship, Jaebum would have assumed that Jinyoung's not trustworthy.

"I am heading to the practice room but I saw Jaebum oppa so I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask since you're all Mark's closest friends. I will go now, thank you!"

Both Jaebum and Jinyoung could only smile as they wave Sana goodbye.

"Closest friends huh?" Jaebum muttered, letting out another sigh that day. "We probably really are. The number of lies I've been coming up these past two weeks are..."

He couldn't continue his sentence but instead, another loud sigh escaped. Jinyoung could only give the other male gentle pats on his shoulder and Jaebum understood that as a silent "It's been hard on you" message.

Jaebum wasn't the only who had to go through an inner turmoil. Even though Jihyo had been one of the first few to agree to keeping a secret for them, she still couldn't help but feel a little guilty when she faced Sana.

Sana had never brought up the topic on Mark when they met up that one time but the guilt Jihyo felt was undeniable. After all, they had been together as a group for such a long time.

Jeongyeon wasn't any better too. There was one time when she had to rush back to the apartment so she could pretend that she's the only one at home since Minhyuk knew the password to their place. But in fact, she had left the apartment for a while to give Mark and Nayeon their privacy.

Another time, she had to call Bambam, who's the nearest to them to hurry to their place. When Minhyuk had arrived to look for Nayeon, the scene that welcomed him was Mark, Nayeon, Bambam and herself having a mini gathering.

Minhyuk suspected nothing at all when they invited him to join them. To him, it seemed like a norm since he knew that they were all close since trainee days.

"This is getting tiring." Jeongyeon groaned when they had another gathering and this time, it's at their place. Because of that issue, the few of them had been meeting up a lot more than before despite their busy schedules.

"I have to start filming my new drama, please spare me." Jeongyeon continued, clasping her hands together at both Mark and Nayeon. "I can't just rush back like how I've been doing anymore."

"Are you still not going to come clean?" Jihyo asked, keeping her gaze at the couple. "It's been three weeks."

"Please have mercy, both of you." This time Jaebum's the one who spoke up. Taking another sip from his can of beer, he then sighed. "I can't come up with any lies anymore. I feel like I've aged another ten years. Not everyone could come up with lies as easy as Jinyoung and Bambam."

"Oi!"

"It's true." Jaebum turned to face Jinyoung who's beside him. "That day when you just made up a lie to save my from Sana? I'm in awe, Park Jinyoung. Cheers."

Jaebum added the last word, gently tapping on Jinyoung's beer can with his own as an attempt to end the topic.

"Well, I was indeed at Japan." Mark started hesitantly, almost expecting a counter reply from either one of them. And he was right.

"With Nayeon!"

However, instead of just one person, it was three different frustrated voices that cut him off.

"But Mark, Nayeon." Jinyoung finally started to sound serious, "I agreed to help from the start because you're happy but also because the both of you said you will be honest with Minhyuk and Sana. It's almost a month."

"As much as I'm always on the both of your side," this time it's Bambam who added onto the conversation. "It's time to really think of how to be honest to them."

Both Mark and Nayeon kept quiet, both deep in their thoughts.

"I will talk to Sana myself." Nayeon spoke in a quiet whisper but loud enough to get everyone's attention in that silence. "She deserves an apology from me."

"No." Mark objected. "Not you, not now. I will do it. And we can't let any of the media know about this."

"I'm still amazed how the both of you can hide this underground relationship even during our idol days. How did Dispatch or the company not catch you?" Jihyo commented, interrupting the current topic for a moment.

"Because we helped them." Jaebum muttered under his breath, a little grudgingly.

"Yeah, we are amazing too. None of the other members managed to find out even until now when everything was so obvious." Jeongyeon added on, shaking her head and rubbing her temples at the same time. "But this time, please spare us. It's not about rule breaking anymore; friendship, career, reputation, a lot of things are at stake!"

Nayeon stayed quiet again, pondering over what Jeongyeon and Jaebum had just said.

"I will be by your side, Nayeon." Jeongyeon continued, her voice gotten softer and gentler. "I won't let you go through this alone. Mark does make you happy; just come clean and ask for forgiveness. I will always be on your side.

Not yours."

She added that two words at then, turning to face Mark at the same time with a deadly glare which actually made Nayeon giggled.

"Are you still mad at him?" Jinyoung snorted. "It's been years. Yes Mark, she's still holding a grudge because you ended your relationship with Nayeon."

"She does have all the reasons to." Mark didn't bother coming up with a counter argument because he knew that she's right. He was the one who indirectly ended their relationship. If only he had chased after her that night.

"I will talk to Sana." Nayeon repeated her words, this time her voice was firmer after the confidence boost from Jeongyeon.

"Let me do it instead."

"No, I have to do this." Nayeon turned to face her lover who's still not happy with the decision she made. However, she simply just gave him an assured smile. "You can do your apologies after."

Mark didn't argue back this time, especially knowing how stubborn she could be once she had made up her mind.

"As cheesy as it's going to sound, no matter what the conclusion is, we will still be on your side."

"That was indeed very cheesy." Bambam grabbed that chance to tease his older friend. "You've gotten really soft, Jaebum hyung."

"Shut up."

The rest burst into soft chuckles, clearly amused that words like those actually came from Jaebum.

Everyone had thought that things would be getting a conclusion soon even if it's going to be a bad one. But since they're all together, they also thought that maybe it would be alright eventually.

Little did they expect that Minhyuk would throw a bomb on them, disrupting all plans. 


less markyeon but more friendship and their inner debate with themselves. especially jaebum. we all know he's pretty firm with rules and morals. at least he does look that way. jihyo's a good friend but she was also Twice's leader, i believe she would be feeling guilty too. jeongyeon's strong protective character is coming out very clearly in this chapter and bambam's loyalty. jeongyeon's protectiveness is pretty important for the future. and yes, we are only left with about two chapters? this is an ultra short story so yeah.

i hope you've enjoyed this chapter. it's a lot lighter than the first few which also shows the contrast between when mark and nayeon were separated and after they got back together. their relationship did affect the rest of their friends too. leave a comment/feedback if you've any thoughts and vote on this chapter, maybe? ^^

peace out!


below is this chapter's 'photo' featuring jinyoung, jeongyeon and wonpil. you can check out my instagram (@/ddeokbxkki) for more!

you can check out my instagram (@/ddeokbxkki) for more!

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Comments

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cece_mytlover
#1
Chapter 9: Good job! Loved it!
Red0302
#2
Chapter 7: I loved this story!!! Good job
Red0302
#3
Chapter 6: This is good. This chapter gave me mental pictures. I also felt the rage, worry, disappointment and betrayal that characters felt in the story. Good job!!!
Red0302
#4
Chapter 5: Did Sana saved Nayeon Or did Nayeon saved Sana? Have to wait till the next chapter.
Red0302
#5
Chapter 3: I don't know how to feel about this situation. I'm also in denial like Jaebum. Good story!!!
Red0302
#6
Chapter 1: First chapter is interesting!!! I will continue to visit the story. Keep it up.