Mark knows what would come next but that doesn't mean he feels any better about the whole situation. When the headmaster of their school of sports and sports science, the most renowned sports school of the whole country, is looking at them one after another, Mark wishes he would have been more diligent when it comes to studying for his anatomy class. He could have spared himself a lot of trouble.

 

“Wang, Tuan, angry kid, just like we discussed before you will meet your protégés now.”

 

“What's a protégé?” Jaebum whispers to Mark.

 

“Something like a fosterling, somebody we're supposed to take care of,” the blond whispers back.

 

“Why the heck doesn't he just say so?” the other hisses in response.

 

“Any objections, angry kid?” the headmaster snaps and fixes Jaebum with a firm glare.

 

“No, sir!”

 

“Good, here you have your information about the boys you're going to coach. Read everything carefully and then head to the teachers' lounge. They are waiting for you there.”

 

Mark looks at the piece of paper which is a simple post-it. There are only two things written on it: 'Park Jinyoung' and the number '128'. Just what about these information should he read carefully? The headmaster acted like he would have to memorize a whole manual about his brainy kid.

 

While they are on their way to the teachers' lounge he takes a look around and spots Jackson and Jaebum with similar questioning expressions on their faces. At least he's not alone in this, Mark thinks.

 

When they enter the respective room Mark immediately makes eye contact with one of his teachers, Mr. Nam. The latter hurries towards them and leans in close to Mark before he whispers, “Good luck, Tuan. They really are nerds.”

 

Awesome, Mark thinks. That's the form of encouragement he expects from a responsible-minded teacher....... NOT. But Mr. Nam doesn't seem to care and now says loud enough for all three of them to catch, “Our hopefully soon-to-be students are in there.” He points to the open door which leads to a small separate room. “Please greet them politely and take good care of them. I'm sure you know that great responsibility weighs on your shoulders. You might start your training right this day. In case you need any advice, every teacher will gladly help you out with anything you need.”

 

Mark hears Jaebum snort right next to him.

 

“Do you want to say anything, Im?”

 

“No, Mr. Nam. I'm very glad to be charged with this task.” The sarcasm drips from every single syllable that leaves Jaebum's mouth.

 

“Better be careful here. This might be your last chance,” Mr. Nam warns him. “And now go and greet the kids.”

 

Mark takes Jaebum by his arm and drags him away. No need to risk him losing his temper even before they started working on their little project.

 

They walk over to the open door and all three of them take a peek into the room without making any noise.

 

There's a skinny kid, a very tall, lazy looking kid, one giggly kid that looks a bit out of place and another one that looks like the textbook nerd, with chunky, black rimmed glasses and a huge tome in his hands. Mark has no idea what it is about, since he doesn't even know the word on the book cover. However, he silently prays to get the tall kid.

 

“Why are there four of them?” Jaebum whispers.

 

“I volunteered to take two,” Jackson informs. A bright smile stretches across his face.

 

“Why?”

 

“I have so much love go give. That's why I decided to take care of two babies,” he says and bounces into the room while he yells a happy greeting.

 

“Why is Jackson... like a weird fairy on drugs?”

 

“I don't know,” Mark admits and observes how Jackson hugs the tall kid and the giggly kid. Great, only the skinny one and the nerd-nerd are left now.

 

“Maybe he dropped on his head too often in artistic gymnastics class,” his roommate reasons.

 

“Probably. But he has my respect for taking two of them. I think I will be pretty busy with only one. Oh god, I hope mine won't be a jerk.”

 

“Same here,” Jaebum agrees. “So, let's go?”

 

“Yeah, let's go.”

 

They bravely walk up to the two remaining kids. Jaebum looks at his information paper quizzically before he starts reading aloud. “Kumpim... what? Bhuwa... I don't know this word. What is this supposed to mean?”

 

“Oh wow, they paired you up with someone who can't even read. Congratulation, Bam,” the nerd-nerd says cynically while he shuts his thick book with a thud.

 

“I can read, okay? It's just that these aren't words!” Jaebum grumbles and is close to losing his temper already.

 

“These are words and it's my name. But you can call me BamBam. Everybody does,” the skinny kid explains.

 

“Thank heavens. This other thing is ridiculous.”

 

“Hey! I just told you that this is my name. How can you say something disrespectful like that?”

 

“I just say how it is!”

 

“God, what a stupid thing to say.”

 

“I'M NOT STUPID!” Jaebum yells.

 

“IT PRETTY MUCH SEEMS SO!” the kid croak-yells back.

 

“Okay okay,” Mark steps in, “we're still in the teachers' lounge and everybody is already looking so we should calm down. BamBam? Jaebum is sorry. He doesn't want to hurt anybody. He sometimes is a little insensitive and simply doesn't realize it. Please accept his apology and give him another chance.”

 

“Hey!” Jaebum complains.

 

But Mark simply grabs the back of his neck as a signal to stay calm. “Apologize!”

 

“Sorry,” his friend grumbles.

 

“Okay, I accept,” BamBam says.

 

“Good, now have a good time together,” Mark announces with fake enthusiasm. Before he releases Jaebum he whispers to him, “Don't this up, okay? Mr. Nam is right. This is your last chance.”

 

“But I hate this,” he whisper-whines in return.

 

“I know, and now go and be nice to him.” He nudges his friend towards the kid and turns to  nerd-nerd, who watched the entire event with curious eyes.

 

“So you're Park Jinyoung, I guess. Hi, I'm Mark Tuan and technically still a first year, but a second year after summer break. I'll be your coach for the next two months and we will get you ready to tackle that entrance exam.” He tries to showcase his most cheery voice to encourage the other boy. Mark thinks there's no point in doing this whole thing half-assed.

 

“Hi Mark,” he says, sounding kind of sly. “Park Jinyoung, IQ 128.” So that's the meaning of the number on his information paper, Mark realizes.

 

“Is it fancy to introduce yourself with your IQ level?”

 

“I don’t know about fancy but I deem it essential. I assume yours to be around 68.”

 

“Wait… doesn’t one need a minimum IQ of 70 to be able to live independently?” Mark questions.

 

“Oh, you at least know that much. I increase my assumption to 72 then,” he says with a sneer. Awesome, his kid is a jerk. Just what he feared the most came true. From the corner of his eyes he spots Jackson, practicing a special handshake with both his kids. They all seem elated about it. Mark is so envious right now.

 

He heaves a deep sigh and squares his shoulders. There's no use in being envious. He has to deal with nerd-nerd here so he will try his best to do exactly that.

 

Mark takes a seat on a chair opposite of him. “So One-Two-Eight, let's have a little chat.”

 

“Ooooh you admit how intellectually superior I am by calling me by my IQ. Good idea. I might reconsider again and estimate your IQ to be 74.”

 

“Yeah, sure. Whatever. So how about-”

 

“But naaah, I think I went overboard with my recent enthusiasm. Let's settle for a solid 73.”

 

Mark huffs. He's annoyed, very very annoyed. So annoyed that he for the first time ever can relate to Jaebum's default state. How should he work with him, if this kid can't manage to stop talking conceited for more than five seconds?! He needs to put his foot down now to prevent this boy's behavior getting out of hand in near future.

 

“Listen kid, you might want to fix your attitude a little-”

 

“How dare you calling me a kid? I'm just a year younger than you are,” nerd-nerd grouses, absolutely outraged.

 

“And as long as you don't manage to catch up, I guess I keep calling you kid.”

 

“But.... I can't catch up to you. That's impossible!”

 

“So as I said, kid-”

 

“My IQ is 128. How dare you to reduce me to a kid?” he spits.

 

“Should I congratulate you on your childish behavior then? Because that is what it is. You can't walk around here and act all haughty and insult people without knowing even the first thing about them. Don't you know that calling other people stupid or even implying it, shows your lack of manners and respect? It also reveals your ignorance towards people. For somebody who claims to be oh so clever, this is truly a pathetic display. However, you should really fix your attitude or you won't survive here. Do you understand, kid?”

 

The younger is obviously taken aback by Mark's sudden speech and the intensity of his words. But the next second he goes into defense mode. “I don't have to listen to you,” he meekly grumbles and flashes a pout. Mark thinks that he's truly a kid, a very sulky and impertinent one at that.

 

“But I'm your coach and therefore you kind of have to listen to me. So let's start again. I'm Mark. You're Jinyoung, a kid. You're super smart. I'm an athlete but that doesn't make me stupid or mentally challenged by default. It would help a lot, if you'd learn to acknowledge that. And now everything is settled and we can start to talk about our joint task.”

 

“I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!” Mark hears the skinny kid yell in the background.

 

“ME? YOU'RE THE WEIRDO HERE!” Jaebum hollers.

 

“NO WAY! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SPEND TWO MONTHS WITH YOU?”

 

“SAME HERE, WEIRDO!”

 

“AAARRGHH!” And with this BamBam storms out of the room with Jaebum running and yelling after him.

 

At least it runs slightly smoother with his brainy kid, Mark thinks. But truly only slightly.

 

“So what's your favorite sport?” Mark asks to regain Jinyoung’s attention.

 

“I like to watch football games on television with my dad sometimes,” he simply answers, finally without any noticeable snark in his voice.

 

“Uhm...okaaaay. What's your favorite sport in which you actively participate?”

 

“Chess.”

 

Mark looks at him with his mouth agape. The younger doesn’t even intend to make fun of him this time. Nevertheless, his answers are shocking.

 

“But what about non-sitting activities? What are your athletic preferences?”

 

“I don't have any.”

 

“To make it short: you don’t do sports at all.”

 

“I told you about my fascination for chess already. Aren’t you listening or is your attention span truly that short?”

 

Mark groans in despair. “I mean a sport in which you move your body, more than just your hands. Okay, whatever. Go and get changed. We will start the training in half an hour and then…. I guess we have to wait and see.”

 

The boy looks like he would do anything rather than listening to Mark’s request but he eventually obeys. And 30 minutes later they meet outside, both dressed in sports wear. The older is actually a bit surprised that Jinyoung even owns proper workout clothes but he’s definitely not complaining.

 

“First of all we will start with a small warm-up and loosen up your muscles to prevent injuries. That will be from now on the start of our every day together.”

 

The younger pulls a face but Mark ignores it. He knows better than to quibble over such details. Instead he starts to demonstrate different warm-up exercises. Smitten with surprise, he notices that Jinyoung really tries his best to copy him, albeit with more or less success.

 

“Important to know is that we do warm-up exercises before our work out and stretches after we’re done with our training,” Mark explains before he starts the next exercise.

 

“I know that,” huffs the boy who already has beats of sweat collecting at his temples. Mark rolls his eyes and just starts the next demonstration.

 

“Now we do hip raises. Lie down on your back,” Mark says and points to the brought sport mats on the ground. Jinyoung complies, although with a certain hesitance. “Good, now bend your knees and then raise your hip up.” Like the other exercises, the older demonstrates the execution before he observes how his new student is doing. Mark is not satisfied. “Okay, this is not working. Your back needs to be completely straight. Feel your spine, kid. No hollow back, otherwise sooner or later this will result in back pain,” he explains and monitors how the younger tries to correct his posture.

 

“Like this?”

 

“Uhm, no. Just let me quickly help you.” Mark crawls over and places one hand under Jinyoung, on his lower back. To his surprise the boy jerks away and rolls over on his side.

 

“Don’t touch me!”

 

Utterly baffled Mark stares at him. “Kid, calm down. I just wanted to show you how to do this correctly.”

 

“Yeah, right. Don’t try to hurt me under the pretense of helping me, ,” the younger hisses.

 

“Well, I wasn't. And really? , yeah? Already forgot our little chat about respect for others?”

 

“Whatever. I do those dumb exercises the way I want.”

 

“Fine, if you want to risk your health, just do what you want. Then do 20 of your terribly, wrong hip raises,” Mark scoffs and crawls back to his own mat and complete the warm-up.

 

They finish with a strange atmosphere between them. Mark wonders if it’s going to be that way for the next two months. He also might regret all of his life decisions so far.

 

“So we will start our training with-“

 

“What do you mean ‘start our training’? We literally worked out for half an hour.”

 

“That was just the warm-up. It doesn’t count as training.”

 

“This is so unfair!”

 

“It’s just normal. You will get used to it with time.”

 

“We will do this every day?” he questions with a hint of despair on his face.

 

“Every day,” Mark confirms.

 

“I can’t believe how sport works,” the kid grumbles and crosses his arms in front of his chest.

 

“As I was about to say, we’re starting with an endurance run. Running is a pretty big thing here. Different distances, different target times, intervals, you will come across everything while being here. So let’s start with a slow but long run. Ready?”

 

“No.”

 

“Good, let's go,” Mark says and starts to run. But soon he realizes that the kid isn’t following and instead is still glued to the spot, looking fretty. So the older makes his way back and offers a questioning look to the boy.

 

“I don't run without a reason,” he simply states.

 

“A reason?”

 

“Yes, like there’s no bear chasing me, so what is the benefit of running?”

 

“The benefit would be you passing the entrance exam,” Mark explains and has a hard time once again to remain calm. Jaebum would have torn this boy to shreds already.

 

“I will pass. In preparation for this I read a lot about sports in general.”

 

“You actually know that reading about running doesn’t equal running, right?” Mark asks skeptically.

 

“My IQ is 128, of course I know. But it will help me.”

 

In this moment a group of girls from Mark’s anatomy class walks by. They are greeting him and waving at him, all happy and giggly. Even though it’s summer break, there are still students who didn’t leave the campus for it or who return occasionally to continue their training.

 

After the short interaction he focuses his attention back on Jinyoung to carry on their discussion.

 

“You still need to do the exercises. Your muscles, if there are any, won’t know how to work just from your brain knowing. Also the exam is pretty much physical so better get your on the running track, kid.” And with this Mark starts to race away. He hears low grumbling behind him but also the sound of Jinyoung’s footsteps.

 

After a minute he turns around to check on the boy. “Can you try to run faster than a three-legged turtle? Maybe?”

 

“You said we would be running slowly,” he pants as he stumbles towards his waiting coach. The younger looks already like he finished a marathon today.

 

“Yeah, slow, but not backwards. Come on! Run kid, run!”

 

Mark mainly works through running exercises with Jinyoung that day. He would have loved to cover more but the younger’s stamina doesn’t allow it. So Mark decides to call it a day.

 

As soon as the older announces the end of the training session, Jinyoung breaks down on the tartan track, heavily gasping for air and drenched with sweat.

 

“I can’t believe this is the training. This is so hard. Why did you choose such hard exercises for the first day? Mean!” he rants between gasps.

 

“Hard? These were mere basics,” Mark answers, baffled.

 

“Do you want to make me cry?”

 

He chuckles a bit at Jinyoung’s helplessness. Maybe this arrangement will turn out to be okay, if he gives it a bit more time. At least he hopes so. “Come on, I walk you to your dorm room.”

 

“No, it’s fine. I go by myself….. in a bit. After my lungs are catching up on their workload.”

 

Mark laughs again while he observes Jinyoung’s pitiful state. He walks closer and holds out his hand for Jinyoung to grab. “Don't be stubborn. Come on, kid. I help you up.”

 

“It’s okay, just leave me here. I’m super fine. I just breathe a little. Just hanging out…. only my friend oxygen and I.”

 

Mark sighs. He doesn’t want to leave the younger lying on the ground out here. After all he's responsible for Jinyoung and his well-being while they are working out together.

 

“Caution, I will touch you now. Don’t freak out.” In one swift move, Mark grabs his arms and loops them around his neck before he reaches back to take hold of Jinyoung’s thighs so he can give him a proper piggyback ride. Fortunately the younger seems to be too exhausted to fight him, at least physically.

 

“W-W-What are you doing?” He is so flustered. Mark doesn’t see his face but his voice says it all.

 

“Bringing you back to your dorm room,” Mark answers matter-of-factly as he starts to walk off the track.

 

“B-But that’s not necessary. And it’s embarrassing,” he fusses.

 

“Nobody is here to see. Also you worked hard on your first day. You did a good job. This is my way of appreciating it.”

 

There is a pause with nothing but breathing coming from the boy on his back. “Fine,” he eventually mumbles.

 

The older carries him all the way to the door of his dorm room before he lets him down.

 

“Okay, kid. We will meet outside by the benches tomorrow at 9:00 am. Sleep well.”

 

“Yeah.” The quiet murmur reaches Mark’s ear as he walks away from the tired boy.

 

Behind two more corners, he runs into Jaebum's kid in the corridor.

 

“Hey, hi.”

 

“You're talking to me?” the other asks in surprise.

 

“Yeah, nobody else is here, right? You're Jaebum’s kid.”

 

“Yes, my name is BamBam.”

 

“Yes, yes right. BamBam. Nice to meet you. I'm Mark. How was your first day?”

 

“Uhm...uh…umm,” he beats around the bush.

 

“What is it? Any problems?”

 

“Can I be honest with you?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“I don't think this will work out. Jaebum is constantly yelling and that makes me yell back at him. Not the best combination.”

 

“Don't worry too much. Jaebum is a nice guy. You will realize when you get to know him better. Don't give up that quickly.”

 

“You really think so?”

 

“Absolutely. Don't be discouraged, okay? You'll be doing great.”

 

“Uhm… okay. If you say so. Thank you,” the boy mumbles while his eyes are pinned on the floor.

 

“Hey, you're sharing a room with Jinyoung, right?”

 

The other boy nods.

 

“I just brought him to your room and, well.... he's not in the best condition. So it would be nice, if you could tell him to use the sauna now. There’s a whole spa in the cellar for the students to use. It will prevent him from getting too bad of a muscle ache tomorrow.”

 

“Sure, I can do that. But why won't you tell him that?”

 

“I don't think he would listen to me. He's.... well, he's a bit stubborn but maybe he would listen to another smart kid. So please take care of him, okay?”

 

“You're so nice,” he says in awe.

 

“Oh...uhm... not over-the-top, really. I just want him to be able to walk tomorrow, for training and stuff.”

 

“Yeah, okay.”

 

“Good, take care Bam- Wait, can I call you Bam?”

 

“You can call me anything you want.”

 

“What?”

 

“Uhm, nothing. What are you up to now?”

 

“I didn't had time to complete my extra training today so I will do that now.”

 

“But didn't you exercise with Jinyoung?”

 

“Yes, but that wasn't enough. I have to put in more effort to get better.”

 

“Oh... okay, don’t overwork yourself. Take care.”

 

“You too. Sleep well, Bam.”

 

 

# # # #

 

 

“Good morning, I assume you didn’t hit the sauna last night, like BamBam advised you to?” Mark asks as a hobbling Jinyoung approaches him at their meeting point.

 

“No, but…. how do you know about that?”

 

“I asked him to tell you that, since I was sure you wouldn’t listen to me. Turns out you don’t listen to anyone. Well… too bad,” Mark casually comments and shrugs his shoulders.

 

“I decided that it wouldn’t be necessary,” the boy huffs and crosses his arms in front of his chest, displaying defiance.

 

“And your clever decision resulted in you having the finest of all muscle aches today. Am I correct, One-Two-Eight?”

 

The response comes as an indefinite grunt combined with a glare.

 

“Whatever. Not my problem. Let’s go inside. We’re starting our training there today.”

 

Mark leads the sulky boy into one of the many private training rooms. Every room is furnished with selected gym equipment and also provides a space to do warm-up and floor exercises.

 

“Okay, since your muscles are obviously sore we will do a light training today to prevent overstraining them even more. Or else it could come to scarring of the tissue and we definitely want to avoid that.”

 

Jinyoung just remains his silent and pouty self. Mark doesn’t care, he simply starts with his warm-up exercises, doing some which they already practiced the previous day, and also mixing in a few new ones. When it comes to the hip raises, Mark beholds his student with a lot of skepticism.

 

“Oh, it’s lovely to see you doing these exercises all wrong again. Truly lovely.”

 

“Shut up. It hurts because of the muscle ache-“

 

“You admit the muscle ache!”

 

“Never said they wouldn’t ache. No miracle, considering the way you tormented me yesterday.”

 

“Tormented? I was going easy on you.”

 

“Don’t believe you. Anyway, talking is not good for the stiffness. It hurts more that way.”

 

“It hurts because you do the hip raises wrong. Your back will start to ache at some point as well. But I’m sure you choose to not believe me.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Then go on, kid.”

 

Mark is determined to use the time with Jinyoung as best as he can to also include his own training. Therefore he completes every exercise along with the boy. “So now give me some push-ups.”  He moves into the basic position for push-ups and observes how Jinyoung follows suit, not without a muttered complaint of course. “Arms further apart. More. Still a little more. Good. Go!” Mark starts with the first push-up and slowly counts. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.”  He looks up to monitor Jinyoung’s progress but is surprised when he sees the younger lying on his belly with his chin propped in his palm while he stares at Mark. “What the heck, kid? You’re supposed to do the exercises together with me,” Mark rants.

 

“I can’t do so many push-ups. It hurts and my arms tremble already,” he explains matter-of-factly.

 

Mark sighs defeated. “How many did you manage?”

 

“A half.”

 

“A half?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“We….. oh my god, we have so much work left to do,” Mark murmurs and tries his best not to sound as dejected as he feels.

 

“How many push-ups can you do?” he suddenly asks, his eyes round and curious.

 

“I don’t know. I usually stop after 60.”

 

“You’re a monster,” the younger comments in obvious amazement.

 

“No, I just exercise properly.”

 

“Do you usually exercise in those tank tops?”

 

“Yes? Why are you asking?”

 

“Uhm, no reason. Are we done with the warm-up?”

 

 

# # # #

 

 

“Good morning, Jackson,” Mark greets the boy next day. He and Jaebum are approaching the other who waits at their usual hangout place, the benches outside the gymnasium.

 

“Mark, Jaebum, good morning,” the boy happily calls. “Are you excited for the new day? How is it going with your kids?”

 

“Excited isn't the word I would choose to describe what I feel,” Jaebum grumbles. “I feel rather exhausted. BamBam is problematic. He always screams and whines the whole time.”

 

“Are you sure that you're not part of the problem there?” Jackson interrogates while obvious doubt is displayed on his face.

 

“Very sure,” the older hisses. “I don't even think he's a brainy kid. I mean how could he not understand the simplest orders? I say 'jump high' and he just doesn't jump high. He seems pretty dumb to me. I think he is an imposter.” Mark and Jackson look at him with raised eyebrows.

 

“Uhm... Jaebum, maybe he doesn't jump high enough because he simply can't do it yet. He has to practice first to be able to accomplish what you ask of him,” Mark suggests carefully.

 

“No, I think he does it because he wants to piss me off. That brat. But not on my watch. I just yell at him until he does what I want.”

 

Mark and Jackson now exchange a very concerned gaze with each other. Maybe BamBam needs to be saved from Jaebum, if they don't somehow make a miracle happen and pull themselves together.

 

“Okaaaaayyyyyy,” Jackson pipes up, obviously determined to make an end to the current awkwardness. “So Mark, what about your kid?”

 

“I don't know. He's stubborn and a little smartass. It's difficult so far.”

 

“No improvement?”

 

“I wouldn't say none at all. He at least tries.... sometimes.... I think. But yeah, baby steps. How about you?”

 

“I love my babies. They are sweet and adorable. My tall baby Yugyeomie is not doing so bad with all the athletic challenges. Sometimes he doesn't know what to do with his long limbs but the rest is fine. I always give out snacks after they finish a training session successfully and that seems to motivate him very much. I'm a bit worried about my smiley, sunny baby Youngjae though. He falls down a lot.”

 

“Just like that?” Jaebum asks astounded.

 

“Oh.... yeah, just like that. Maybe the earth spins a little faster sometimes and Youngjae is the only one who's sensitive enough to notice. He's that special, you know?”

 

“Yeah, or he's hella clumsy.”

 

“Im Jaebum, don’t say that about him!” Jackson rants, his happy attitude is nowhere to be found now. “He just needs to practice a bit more.”

 

“Practice to do basic human activities?”

 

“Pssst! Don’t let my baby hear your needless pessimism. He puts a lot of effort into everything and he will do wonderful in his entrance exam. You won’t discourage him. Are we clear?”

 

“Fine, whatever you say. Not my problem anyway,” Jaebum agrees with a shrug. “But Jackson, you know they aren't real kids... like kiddy kids right? Like...you know.... babies.”

 

“Shut up, I love them and want to adopt them,” the blond huffs sulkily.

 

Mark already regrets that he rolled out of bed this morning. But there's no way back. At least he could try to change the subject to something less explosive, he thinks. “Hey, Mr. Nam gave me the list of the entrance exam disciplines. They actually depart from the standard quite a bit.” Mark shows the piece of paper to both of his friends.

 

“True, they cut several disciplines. So it's mainly track and field and artistic gymnastics left. Oh and there's still basketball,” Jackson points out.

 

“Yeah, it makes sense,” Mark thinks out loud. “It would be impossible to prepare the boys in two months for all the regular disciplines. They go easy on them.”

 

“So they get special treatment. Great,” Jaebum grumbles.

 

“The headmaster seems to be and idiot when he thinks we need special treatment,” they hear Jinyoung's voice say. They turn around to see their four students walking up to them.

 

“Please go ahead and tell him,” Jaebum suggests before he murmurs quietly, “Then we would have one nerd less to take care off.”

 

“Nah, I don't feel like pointing out the obvious,” the boy declines and adjusts his glasses.

 

“Babies, are you feeling good this morning?” Happy Jackson is suddenly back. Mark wonders, if the two younger boys aren't grossed out by him but it doesn't seem to be the case as they greet each other with their special handshake.

 

“Good morning, Mark,” BamBam greets with a smile.

 

“Good morning, Bam. How are you feeling?”

 

“Oh, pretty good-”

 

“Hey, you're my student. I am here, too, you know?” Jaebum butts in.

 

“Yeah, unfortunately you are,” the Thai boy scoffs.

 

“HOW DARE YOU?”

 

“DON'T YELL AT ME FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!”

 

“DON'T BE A PEST FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!”

 

“Okay, we all don't want to hear you yelling, freaking first thing in the morning. Calm down,” Mark steps in and both boys look the tiniest bit ashamed.

 

“Hey Jackson, can I have a snack?” Yugyeom asks. He flashes him big puppy eyes while he excitedly bounces up and down.

 

“Yugyeomie, you just had breakfast, right? And also.... you're eating right now. What are you even eating right after breakfast?”

 

“Just a croissant,” the boy states casually before he gobbles down the last bit of it.

 

“Okay, you will get more snacks after you finished the first part of training today. Are you excited?”

 

“YES!” Youngjae confirms enthusiastically and raises his fist.

 

“That's my baby,” his coach praises.

 

“I just hope the ground won't hurt me so much today.”

 

“Yes, the bad, bad ground,” Jackson whines and pats the giggly boy's head. “But baby-Jae, don't be discouraged just because it will be a new day full of gravitational force. We will overcome this, okay?” Youngjae nods and beams at his coach. “Awesome. Now come on my babies- Yugyeomie? What are you eating now?”

 

“Just some licorice. Tiny portion. I swear.”

 

“Okaaayyy, anyway. Training, now. Bye guys, see you later,” the blond calls out to the rest of them before he and his two students are leaving.

 

Mark thinks that Jackson must be a great teacher. He's not half as worried about Yugyeom and Youngjae as he is about BamBam. Or even Jinyoung at that point, who is now eyeing him with a certain amount of suspicion.

 

“What?”

 

“You greeted BamBam but you ignore me.”

 

“Because your first sentence today was a snarky remark about somebody else's intelligence. We talked about that.”

 

“The headmaster wasn't even present.”

 

“Still!” Mark insists. “Learn some respect, kid. And while we're at it, I hope you'll also learn to do hip raises properly because that is what we are doing now. Warm-up time.”

 

Jinyoung pulls a wry face but still follows Mark without another word of resistance. At least they came this far, Mark thinks.

 

 

# # # #

 

 

It’s day five of their little project and the situation is still difficult. Jinyoung is still Jinyoung, and Mark tries his best to not freak out with his glitches in attitude. Though he thinks that the younger also tries to refine himself. Sometimes he catches him, looking like he wants to give a snarky answer and then decides to keep it in. The blond is thankful every time that happens. Nevertheless, Jinyoung still showcases enough mockery to test Mark's patience on an hourly basis. 

 

But at least his relationship with the stubborn boy developed. BamBam and Jaebum are still yelling at each other way too often. Jackson on the other hand is living his best life with his ‘babies’. They are bouncing around, all smiles and sunshine, like a happy little family.

 

“Okay One-Two-Eight, after you completed your warm-up exercises absolutely wrong again, we're ready to tackle today's training session.”

 

“Won't you ever let that slide?”

 

“No, not until you stop being a stubborn idiot.”

 

“I'm not an idiot! My IQ is-”

 

“128, yes I know. Then come on, stubborn genius. We will do something interesting today.”

 

Mark ushers the boy into their respective training room.

 

“You want me to perform a vault?” the younger asks flabbergasted when he spots the prepared equipment.

 

“I indeed want you to perform a vault. That's correct.”

 

“I.... I can't.”

 

“Sure you can.”

 

“I can't. It's too high. And too dangerous. I will fall. I will hurt myself. It's impossible,” he starts to fuss.

 

“Kid, you have to try to find out, if you can do it or not. How would you know?” Mark asks, smiling at the scared boy while he gently rubs his arm.

 

“I know I can't. I won't even get over this thing. I need wings to jump high enough.”

 

“There's a springboard.”

 

“Mark! You don't get it. I will fling myself against that thing and I will get hurt and... and-” Mark realizes that serious panic seizes the boy. He needs to calm him down. Jinyoung can't freak out before he even tried. That would have only contra productive effects. Instead he needs to feel a success so that his confidence in his own physical abilities increases.

 

“Hey, hey, Jinyoung, breathe,” Mark says in a calm tone. He faces the fussing boy and now puts both his hands on his shoulders to gently squeeze them. “You won't get hurt. You can do it. You just have to believe in yourself. You only can do it, if you trust yourself. But you should know that I definitely put my trust in you. I know you can lift yourself up to the highest highs and propel yourself over this stupid vaulting table. You can show this stupid vaulting table how superior you are. I believe in you.”

 

“You.... do?” Jinyoung asks in obvious amazement.

 

“Of course. Otherwise I wouldn't ask you to do it. The bravest thing for you to do was coming here to this college, announcing that you would try to achieve your goal even though the task is difficult. And you already accomplished this. In comparison to this, this stupid vaulting table is not much to overcome. It can't stop you, right?”

 

“I maybe could do it....,” he hesitantly utters. Uncertainty is still visible in his big, blinking eyes but there is happening something in his mind. “Yeah, maybe I really could...”

 

Mark can't believe it. His motivational speech really seemed to work. He hoped for this result but was so unsure about his success. His chances to be able to fight through Jinyoung's natural stubbornness seemed rather low.

 

“No Jinyoung, you can! Okay listen. I will wait for you on the other side. You just have to fly towards me. And if you might stumble a bit during the landing, I will catch you, okay? Nothing bad will happen to you.”

 

Jinyoung's mind is racing, Mark is almost able to see it as much as he senses it. After a long pause, the boy is nodding cautiously. “I think I can do it.”

 

“YAAAY!” Mark celebrates and wraps his arms around the astounded Jinyoung. “That's the spirit. You gonna fly!”

 

“Okay,” the younger whispers. Mark pulls away a little to see his face, only to spot a shy smile on it. It's a very handsome face, Mark suddenly realizes when he's close enough to see every little perfection of his facial features.

 

The blond swiftly breaks the hug and gives the boy an encouraging pat on the back before he takes his spot on the other side of the vaulting table. He positions himself and spreads his arms wide. Jinyoung is obviously tense. He chews on his bottom lip almost violently as he stares at the obstacle in front of him with furrowed eyebrows. He's probably still inwardly debating, if he really should try it or not. But Mark really wants him to try. He's sure that the boy is capable of achieving this intermediate goal when he just believes in himself enough.

 

The older flashes the kid his brightest smile when he calls out, “Come on Jinyoung! I'm waiting for you.”

 

And indeed, the younger quickly nods and starts to run towards the vaulting table. Mark thinks that he never saw him running that fast and with so much power before. It seems like there's a brand new Jinyoung in front of his eyes when he vigorously hurtles onto the springboard and pushes himself off it. His hands are reaching the vaulting table, pushing himself up even higher so that his feet aren't touching the obstacle. He's flying over the piece of sports equipment as if it would be nothing. In his face, the older spots surprise and happiness lighting up his features.

 

But maybe he used a bit too much strength. When he lands, the boy can't even stay for a split second on his feet. Instead he stumbles right into Mark's waiting arms and knocks him over in the process.

 

“Whoooahh,” the boy whispers into Mark's chest as he now lies on top of him on the mat.

 

“Hey, kid?” Mark struggles to ask. The additional weight on him makes its presence felt. Also he's still a little confused after the forced landing. Jinyoung pulls his face out of Mark's tank top just to let his chin rest on the older's chest. He looks at him with round, dark eyes, so pretty that Mark thinks he sees them for the first time ever with such an intense shine in them.

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“Where are your glasses?”

 

“Oh... I probably lost them somewhere in between flying and crashing,” he giggles.

 

“Oh no, I hope they're not broken. Do you see anything at all now?”

 

“My eyesight is perfect.”

 

“But.... why the glasses?”

 

“Just for the heck of it. Everyone should be able to tell I am smart just by only so much as glancing at me.”

 

“You're such a fraud,” Mark scoffs and receives another bubbling laughter from the younger. “Hey, kid?”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“YOU MADE IT!” Mark yells happily and loops his arms around him to squeeze the out of the boy. Jinyoung answers with a cascade of cute giggles. Only when Mark trashes him around a little, noises of protest are coming from him.

 

“Ouch ouch ouch ouch!”

 

Mark stops to examine him. “What's up? Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

“Yes, my knee,” he whines and sits up so that he's comfortably seated on Mark's middle. “I think I scraped it.”

 

“What? How? You landed on me and on a freaking mat.” The younger climbs off Mark and beholds the respective knee, his face full of sorrow. “Kid, it just reddened a little bit. It's not scraped. It will turn into a tiny bruise at the most,” Mark reasons after sitting up.

 

“Noooo, look! I think it will bleed. Look! Is this blood already?” he fusses.

 

“No, it's not.”

 

“Mark, do something about it! I think it's really bad. Maybe it's broken.”

 

“Your knee isn't broken, trust me. But if you insist, we can go to the infirmary and I will put a band-aid on.... your wound.”

 

“Yes, I think that would be good,” the younger whimpers.

 

Mark stands up and dusts himself down before he leaves the mat. But when he notices that Jinyoung doesn't move, he stops. “Aren't you coming?”

 

“I don't think I can walk by myself.”

 

“Jinyoung, stop exaggerating,” the older says and offers a thorough eye roll.

 

“I'm nooooooooooot.”

 

“Fine,” Mark gives in before the younger could whine any more. He crouches down in front of him, his back facing the boy. “Hop on. You know the drill already.”

 

“Yes.” And with what feels like a bit too much enthusiasm, Jinyoung gets on his back and Mark starts to carry him towards their new destination.

 

During the summer break there's no teacher or nurse on duty in the infirmary but the basic supplies are still accessible for the students and free for them to use. When they arrive, Mark realizes they are not the only ones in need of medical supplies.

 

There's Jackson, sitting next to a not as happy as usual Youngjae and dabs a cut on his elbow with a wad of cotton. On another chair sits Yugyeom, acting like he's absolutely unimpressed by his bleeding friend, while he happily munches away on a sandwich.

 

“Hey guys, what's up?” Mark asks while he carefully puts Jinyoung down on a chair opposite of them.

 

“My baby-Jae fell down and hurt his elbow. We have to fix this quickly,” Jackson explains, making a face as if he would feel the pain even worse than Youngjae himself.

 

“I told you, it's not that bad,” Youngjae assures him with a soft smile while he gently pats Jackson's hair with the hand of his healthy arm.

 

“Nooo, baby, I let you fall down and I'm sorry.”

 

The boy only giggles cutely. “How is it your fault? It just happened because I didn't focus as much as I was supposed to. But it's only a little cut, not the end of the world.”

 

“My brave baby,” Jackson wails and looks like he's ready to break into tears. Mark and Jinyoung only exchange an astounded look with raised eyebrows but decide to not comment. Instead Mark quietly crouches down in front of Jinyoung to disinfect the red skin on Jinyoung's knee, not because it's necessary but because it would make the boy feel better.

 

“I can't believe you tripped. It was so easy and still you tripped,” Jaebum fusses when he enters the room with a limping BamBam behind him.

 

“And I can't believe the lack of information and instruction you give before we approach a new exercise,” the Thai boy nags before he plops down into a chair.

 

“What's up with you?” Jackson asks.

 

“He has legs like a freaking giraffe. How is it that he won't get over these hurdles? Can you believe it? He just trips and almost knots his giraffe-legs together,” Jaebum grumbles, still very outraged.

 

“Are you okay, Bam?” Mark asks, ignoring his friend's speech.

 

“Yeah, only a few scratches,” the boy reveals. “Thank you.” BamBam sends him a smile filled with gratitude. Mark is glad that he's not seriously injured.

 

“Can you maybe continue, Mark? I think my knee is still broken,” Jinyoung nags. The older rolls his eyes before he mutters a “sure it is”.

 

“Wow, you really want to tell me that they all hurt themselves?” Jaebum continues to rant when he takes a proper look around. “We honestly should believe they are brainy kids? They seem like a bunch of es.”

 

“Jaebum, get a hold of yourself!” Mark hisses.

 

“Yeah, don't be a bully,” Jackson chimes in.

 

“Why are you always so angry?” BamBam snaps at his coach.

 

“Why are you so angry now?” Jaebum wonders.

 

“I just can't stand listening to your bull any more.”

 

“I'M GONNA SMACK YOU OUT OF THE ORBIT, YOU-.... wait, why am I fighting with a lamp post?”

 

“Jaebum!” Mark warns again. He has no idea what his problem is. BamBam seems to be a perfectly nice kid.

 

“You think you can utilize a few insults and that would make you intimidating? Pah!” BamBam taunts.

 

“You think you can use a difficult word and think I would believe you're smart? Pah!”

 

The Thai boy shakes his head in disbelief. “You're atrocious.”

 

“Mark, he's using a difficult word to confuse me!” Jaebum suddenly whines and looks at Mark with pleading eyes. He always acts like he's such a tough guy but Mark knows deep down he's still a kid who has some growing up left to do.

 

“Yeah okay,” Mark sighs. “Maybe we all should calm down.”

 

“Absolutely. My babies are getting scared,” Jackson agrees.

 

“No, I'm just getting hungry,” Yugyeom butts in.

 

“This is a mess, created by a single caveman,” Jinyoung says dismissively and rolls his eyes.

 

“Shut up, or I break all your nerdy bones,” Jaebum hisses at Jinyoung.

 

“Jaebum, a last time now, snap the out of it,” Mark grumbles.

 

“You can't touch me. Mark will protect me,” Jinyoung taunts the fuming Jaebum and on top of it offers a feline, self-satisfied smile.

 

“What makes you think so?” Mark asks him in amazement.

 

“You're responsible for me. You can't let me die.”

 

“That's true,” the blond confirms with an acknowledging nod.

 

“If I can't put my hands on him, then it's you against me, Mark. Come on!” Jaebum suddenly challenges him, looking all feisty.

 

Mark deadpans. “Tell me one good reason why we should beat each other up?”

 

“Whoooaaah! You're right, I almost got tricked. The evil, brainy kid really is brainy... and evil.”

 

“Gosh! What a well phrased realization,” Jinyoung mocks.

 

“Watch it, boy!”

 

“What can I do if you're not even capable of finishing a simple thinking process on your own? Even your own stupidity tries to run away from you.”

 

“Jinyoung!” Mark immediately scolds.

 

“SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR NERDY BONES,” Jaebum yells and tries to launch himself on Jinyoung. Gladly Mark and Jackson are quick enough to hold him back.

 

“THAT'S ENOUGH!” Mark rarely raises his voice but when he does everyone is immediately alarmed, knowing that the situation is a serious one. “I can't believe how you both are behaving. Learn to control your tempers and your mouths and use your damn heads! Behaving like ignorant kids won't help anyone. This is really so disappointing. I hope the both of you will reflect on your immature actions and try to treat each other like normal humans. Until then I don't want either of you speaking to me,” Mark finishes his scolding. He throws a quick glare at Jaebum and then at Jinyoung before he turns around to stomp out of the room.

 

 

# # # #

 

Mark is muttering in his dorm room while he's twisting and turning on his bed. He can't get over the fact that Jinyoung and Jaebum treated each other with so little respect. They are all in this thing together, Mark thinks. They are all in this project, trying to make it work. So the least they could do is sticking together and make the best of it. But those es are just continuing to fight for no reason, making it difficult for everyone.

 

Mark would ponder over this until the world comes to an end. But before that happens, he hears a soft knock on the door, followed by Jinyoung's muffled voice. “Mark? Are you there? Can I come in...... please?”

 

A few seconds go by as the older purposely keeps the boy outside in suspense. Then he answers curtly. “Come in.”

 

A seemingly tamed Jinyoung enters the room. After he closed the door behind himself, he just lingers there at the entrance, eyes flitting across the room, avoiding Mark at all costs.

 

The older sighs and sits up. “Come over here, Jinyoung.”

 

Obviously relieved by the invitation, the boy scurries across the room and takes a seat on the edge of the bed before his eyes finally meet Mark's.

 

“Hey,” he softly says.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Are you still angry?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Okay... cool, I mean no, not cool but...uhm...uh-” He interrupts himself to take a deep breath, looking like he's steeling himself for war. “I am very sorry, Mark. I know we talked about my attitude and I really try to change. You have to believe me, I really do try. But Jaebum acted so mean earlier that I couldn't hold myself back.”

 

That's surprising. Mark didn't even expect so much reason from him. But still there is more he wants to hear. “I know but that's no excuse for-”

 

“I know. I don't want to bluff it out. I just wanted to explain to you what happened. After you were gone we all were kind of dumbstruck. We realized that you were right and we talked it out. I apologized to Jaebum and he apologized to me.”

 

“Honestly?” Mark interrogates flabbergasted.

 

“Yes, honestly. I think we will get on with each other better from now on.”

 

“Oh.... that's good.”

 

“Yeah, I think so, too,” he says and offers a tiny smile for the first time since he entered this room. “Jaebum was very devastated when you left. It seems like the one thing which really defeats him is you being mad at him. Such a softie,” he scoffs.

 

“Yes, he really is,” the blond confirms, also smiling. “Jinyoung, I'm very proud of you. It's such a big step for