Are you a fast runner? had been one of the most random questions on the job application, but after a few weeks on the job, Mark was beginning to understand why it had been brought up. After two hours spent chasing GOT6 around during their wild game of capture the flag, lugging around his massive camera no less, he was feeling the telltale burn in his legs from having kept up with them the entire time, running like a madman so he wouldn’t miss any good footage. He’d worked with several other groups in the agency before, but these six were by far some of the most exhausting. As soon as they were asked to compete against each other for whatever reason, it was game over.

Mark sat down with the rest of the staff, rolling his shoulder, which felt sore from carrying the weight of the camera. Exhausted as he was, he felt satisfied by the day’s work. They were undeniably exhausting, but GOT6 was also hilarious, and he got a real kick out of working with them. The leader JB had a charming gap between his chic looks and surprisingly goofy personality, every word that came out of Jackson’s mouth was side-splitting, Yugyeom and BamBam were so extra that they were almost living memes, and Youngjae’s laughter was a source of hilarity in and of itself. And then there was Jinyoung, who was on the surface the most serious of the bunch, but was at his heart a mixer who enjoyed stirring up trouble and so slyly acting the fox that no one ever caught on to it until it was too late.

Jinyoung had been acting particularly foxy during their capture the flag mission. He’d tricked every single member on the opposing team at least once, and would have taken the victory thanks to his deviousness if the staff hadn’t started passing out super power cards, which gave the opposing team an unfair advantage. Mark had been a little disappointed by the results, and had been rooting for the Jinyoung-JB-Youngjae team to win the game. Not that it was really his business, but as one of the ones filming the whole thing, he couldn’t help but get a little invested.

“Hyung, say ahhhhh!”

Mark glanced up. Park Jinyoung was standing in front of him holding a spoon full of the shaved ice the group had been given to cool off after all their running around. Jinyoung’s had been dyed red, which had leaked out onto his lips as he’d eaten it, making it look like he’d been playing with lipstick.

“That’s your reward, Jinyoung-ah,” Mark said waving his hand. “Don’t worry about me, I grabbed some ice water from the cooler.”

“But you worked harder than all of us,” Jinyoung said solemnly. “It must have been tiring. Sorry for making you run so much like that.” He pushed the spoon forward again. “Say ahhh!”

Mark shrugged, opening his mouth and accepting the shaved ice Jinyoung ferried into it. The GOT6 kids were all super generous, but Jinyoung in particular he thought must have been raised incredibly well by his parents to be as kind as he was. He was always doing things like this to show his appreciation to the staff, and never failed to apologize when there was a long day of filming, even if he worked just as hard as the crew did.

“Thank you,” Mark said once he’d recovered from a brief moment of brain freeze. It tasted delicious on such a hot day as this.

“Now your lips are red,” Jinyoung said with a smile.

“Yours, too.”

Jinyoung puckered his lips a little. “I bet it doesn’t look as good on me as it does on you.”

“Are you kidding? You’re the idol. Everything looks good on you. Even those minion overalls from a few years ago.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Jinyoung took a bite of his shaved ice, then his newly brightened lips. “Anyways, thanks for the hard work, Mark hyung. I’ll look forward to seeing the final footage.” He granted him with another smile before turning back to rejoin his groupmates.

Mark watched him walk away, feeling a little pang as he crossed over the barrier between the different worlds they inhabited. He could in a way understand how the fans felt about Jinyoung—about all the GOT6 members—and how even though they were so fun and approachable, they still managed to exist in this separate, unreachable space. Mark, when it came down to it, was just an average joe with a camera who you could pass on the street without knowing or caring. Jinyoung and the others in the meantime held the hearts and devotion of millions around the world and gave encouragement to others with the simplest of words and actions. Sometimes when the members came up to him and chatted with him like any other people, he forgot this about them, but the second they were out of his own little bubble of every day normality, he felt that sense of distance that made him remember that even though he worked beside them, he really wasn’t like them at all.

It's too bad, Mark thought, sipping his ice water as he watched Jinyoung lean into Yugyeom’s shoulder and whisper something into his ear. In another life, I may have asked him out for coffee after work.

It was fun to think about sometimes. But in the world they lived in, Jinyoung belonged on the other side of the lens, and Mark would always record him for the whole world to see, and nothing about any moment he captured truly belonged to him.

“Mark hyung!”

Mark looked up from his viewfinder to see Jinyoung standing there, still wearing the peach shaped hat he’d put on for the V-Live Mark had just finished filming. It looked so adorable that he couldn’t help but automatically smile at the sight of him.

“Need something, Jinyoung ah?” he asked.

“I wanted to talk to you about my upcoming V-Live series,” he said. “We’re not promoting right now, but most of the other members have solo activities going on, and I have some free time to myself coming up over the next week where I’m not really doing anything.  I don’t want to just sit around while everyone else is busy, so I talked with the company about shooting a five part V-Live showing fans my everyday life during the week. It’s going to be casual and informal so I could shoot it with my own phone and a selfie stick if I wanted, but I wouldn’t be able to move around as much that way. I was wondering if you could help me with the filming, if you’re not busy with anything else.”

“If it’s fine with the company, I don’t see why not.”

“Great! I was hoping you could be the one to do it. You know all my best angles.”

Mark snorted. As if someone like Jinyoung actually had any bad angles. “So, when does this series of yours start, and what’s your plan for the five episodes?”

“I’d like to have it start on Monday, and to have one episode per day until we hit the weekend. And like I said, it’s super informal. I’m just going to be showing fans some of the things I like to do during my downtime. Like going out for coffee or neatening up the dorm, things like that.”

“All right. Shouldn’t be too difficult, then.”

“I think it’ll be fun,” Jinyoung said, grinning.

“Will you be wearing that hat during filming?” Mark asked, nodding to the peach. “I kind of like it.”

“Oh…this?” Jinyoung regrettably pulled it off. “I forgot that was still on. And no, it would look pretty stupid if I tried to grab coffee at a cafe wearing this.”

“Come on. Your fans would love it. It would look freaking cute.”

“You think?”

“These are the same fans who constantly comment ‘Jinyoung, do aegyo’. Why wouldn’t they like it?”

“No way am I doing aegyo.” He stretched out the peach hat a little. “But I might consider keeping this for another occasion, if you really think it’s that cute.”

“Jinyoung!” JB called over, cutting Mark off before he could respond. “We’re heading over to the practice room! Get your over here!”

“See you on Monday, then,” Jinyoung said to Mark, flashing one last smile before turning away. “I’m really looking forward to working with you.”

JINYOUNG’S WEEKDAY DIARY: DAY ONE: COFFEE PRINCE

“All right, ready to go?” Mark asked, lifting up his camera. Jinyoung sat across from him at the café table, holding onto his iced caramel macchiato. He’d ordered two, one for himself and one for Mark, even though Mark probably wouldn’t be able to drink his since he’d be busy manning the camera. It was still a very nice, Jinyoung-esque thing to do.

Jinyoung adjusted the fashion glasses he was wearing and swept a hand through his hair. “Yup, I’m ready.”

“All right. Going live in 3…2…1!”

Jinyoung stared into the camera, pausing for a moment so that a few viewers were present when he started to speak. “Hello,” he said at length, bowing his head a little. “It’s GOT6’s Jinyoung. It’s the first episode of my weekday diary, where I show you how I spend my free time. I wanted to start by coming to my favorite place to get coffee.”

Mark filmed Jinyoung as he talked a little bit about how he first discovered the café and some of the times he’d gone there with the members in the past. Jinyoung had such a pretty and soothing voice, and Mark got a little wrapped up in listening to him, focusing more on his words then how well he was coming across in the viewfinder. Not that this was anything he needed to be concerned about—Jinyoung always came across well on camera. His face pretty much did Mark’s job of making him look good for him.

“This place is very popular with couples,” Jinyoung noted suddenly. “I think that many people go on dates here. It’s fun to watch them, but it can be a little lonely sometimes. So I’m thinking of today as a date. You’re sitting across from me, so I’m not alone.”

Mark resisted rolling his eyes. Jinyoung usually wasn’t the type to pull the cringey ‘all the fans are my girlfriends and I’m on a one-on-one date with all of them!’ delusion and he wondered why he was pulling it now.

Jinyoung must have noticed his expression, since his eyes flicked upwards from the camera lens to look into Mark’s eyes. “A lot of dramas have coffee dates, don’t they?” he said, continuing his narration to the fans even though he was no longer looking at them. He reached across the table to pick up Mark’s caramel macchiato, and slipped it under the view of the camera to press the straw up against Mark’s lips. “The heroine usually gets whipped cream on her lips, and the male lead wipes it up with his thumb.” Jinyoung kept poking Mark’s lips with the straw until he finally took a drink. “I think that would be a little awkward to do that in real life, though. I think I would pat their mouth clean with a napkin instead. Would that still be heart fluttering?”

He at last lowered the drink and turned his eyes back to the camera. “I think it would be heart fluttering,” he said with a smile. “Getting to be with the person you love is always heart fluttering, right?”

“Am I off live now?” Jinyoung asked. They’d shot about an hour of footage of Jinyoung at the café before Jinyoung had wrapped up.

“Yup.” Mark checked the statistics. “You managed to rack up 5 million hearts all by yourself, too.”

“I’m glad they liked it. What did you think?”

“It was nice. If you were going for a date-like feel, I think you got it.”

“Good.” Jinyoung picked up his empty coffee cup, and Mark’s as well, which he’d been able to finish off thanks to Jinyoung picking it up for him at regular intervals to sip during filming. “I really enjoyed it. And I think you’re really going to enjoy the location I picked out tomorrow.” He smiled, showing those adorable eye whiskers of his.

“Me?” He wasn’t aware how Jinyoung knew much of anything about his likes or dislikes.

“Right. You’re a big dog lover, aren’t you? You've got a dog back home, Milo. I've seen him on your instagram. Plus, I noticed you always stop to pet dogs when we’re walking to a shooting site.”

Mark shrugged. “Well, they’re cute.”

“I’m not judging you! But if you like dogs, I guarantee you’ll like tomorrow’s location.” His smile got even bigger. “I’ll look forward to working with you tomorrow, too, hyung.”

JINYOUNG’S WEEKDAY DIARY: DAY TWO: ANIMAL MODEL

Jinyoung hadn’t been lying when he’d said Mark would love the filming location. Mark was in fact two seconds away from turning into a puddle of goo courtesy of the sight of Jinyoung adorably cuddling a yellow lab puppy up against his cheek.

“I think many IGOT6s don’t know, but our dorm is nearby this animal shelter,” Jinyoung was saying to the camera. “Before we debuted, sometimes we’d stop in and visit with the animals, Youngjae and JB especially. The auntie who runs the shelter always joked that we could be promotional models to encourage people to adopt the dogs and cats here. So that’s what I’m going to do today. This little guy here is Snickers. He’s really small right now, but he’s going to grow up to get very big, isn’t he?”

Snickers nestled against Jinyoung’s cheek, and Mark sincerely felt like releasing a noise that would put Jinyoung’s fangirls to shame. How could this guy be so cute? Mark had always tried to view him objectively in the past, as someone he was supposed to promote and showcase in the best light, but now he felt captivated solely by Jinyoung’s natural light that came from the opposite side of the lens. He was such a sweet, kind person—no wonder there were so many girls and women around the world with a crush on him.

Jinyoung continued to go around the store, introducing the other animals. There was Sarang, a lanky black cat. Minnie, a beagle whose elderly owner had just passed away. Choo, an energetic shiba inu. Gracie, an elegant tabby. Minnie, Choo, and Sarang warmed up to Jinyoung right away and were very receptive to his pets and snuggles, but Gracie decided to ignore Jinyoung and give him the cold shoulder whenever he approached, which resulted in Jinyoung going on a bit of a petty diatribe about how animals didn’t appreciate him enough and that if JB or BamBam were there, Gracie would be all over them. Mark had a hard time holding back his laughter. He’d always found this side of Jinyoung quite cute as well.

Judging by the flood of comments, Mark was pretty sure every animal in the shelter was going to get adopted. It was probably going to end up a race as to who would get there first. Who wouldn’t want to take home a dog or cat that had looked so cute with Jinyoung?

After filming was over, Jinyoung picked up Minnie the beagle again. “It’s so sad that she lost her owner,” Jinyoung said, planting a little kiss on her forehead. “She’s such a pretty, well-behaved girl, too. Mark hyung…will you adopt her with me?”

“With you?” Mark repeated in surprise.

“I’m too busy to take care of a dog on my own, and I don’t really know how. But you love dogs, so I thought maybe you’d make a great owner for her. She wouldn’t necessarily be my dog in any way, but since we work for the same agency, maybe I could see her sometimes by visiting you or you bringing her to the company?” Jinyoung looked at him earnestly. “It’s just a suggestion. You don’t have to. But I just thought it would be nice for you, to have another dog around. Milo could have a friend.”

Mark extended his hands and accepted Minnie from Jinyoung. She really was a beautiful dog, and she looked so sweet with her tail wagging, staring up at him with deep brown eyes, not unlike Jinyoung’s own. Mark could already feel his heart melting, and those sweet eyes staking a claim on it.

He looked back up into Jinyoung’s. “Well. She’s just convinced me to adopt her.”

“Great!” Jinyoung beamed. “You two look so sweet together. Minnie and Milo and Mark.” He reached out and scratched the top of Minnie’s head. “I hope we can be friends, too, Minnie ah. I just got you an amazing owner, after all.”

JINYOUNG’S WEEKDAY DIARY: DAY THREE: TIDY UP!

Mark had never been to the dorm when it was this quiet before. Usually, when all the members were there, it was a madhouse. BamBam and Yugyeom were always doing crazy things to the accompaniment of Jinyoung snapping at them, Jaebum and Youngjae were always loudly playing PC games, and Jackson was constantly creating the unique cacophony that came along with being Jackson.

With just Jinyoung there, it was at last peaceful. But the peace made Mark all the more conscious of the fact that it was just the two of them there alone, particularly when Jinyoung gestured him into his bedroom, where the day’s filming would be taking place. The space was cramped, and Mark felt with every movement that he was practically on top of Jinyoung. There was no way to keep himself from brushing against him at points, which only made his hyper-awareness of the nearby bed and the somewhat intimate scent of Jinyoung lingering on the pillow and sheets worse.

Snap out of it, he scolded himself as Jinyoung got set up. He’s not for someone like you. You’re just staff to him. And he’s supposed to be a paycheck to you.

But seeing Jinyoung like this pushed him further and further away from the image of being just a source of income. In his bedroom, you could see all the touches of who he really was—the books he read, the clothes he wore outside of his official appearances, the bottles of cologne, the scribbled in notebooks. The bed he awoke in each morning with mussed hair and unshaven stubble, probably not looking like an idol at all.

For the last time, he scolded himself. SNAP OUT OF IT!

“Are you all right, Mark?” Jinyoung asked. “You’re being super quiet, even for you.”

“I didn’t want to mess with your concentration.”

“I’m not concentrating on anything right now, though. Mess away.” He threw a pair of stray socks into his hamper. “Anyways, I think I’m ready to start filming.”

“So, we’re just going to be sticking to your room?” Mark asked. “I know this is a ‘tidying up the dorm’ episode, but your room is probably in the least need of tidying.”

“The other members don’t want me showing their rooms when they’re not around, and the company doesn’t want me to show the kitchen since the mess in there will ruin our image. So yup, we’ll be sticking to my bedroom.”

“All right, then.” Mark got the camera ready. “You good to go?”

“Uh-huh. Let’s shoot!”

“On the count of 3…2…1.”

“Hello, it’s GOT6’s Jinyoung,” Jinyoung began when enough viewers had entered. “On today’s diary, I thought I’d show you how I keep my room looking nice. It’s a little small, so it’s easy for it to get cluttered, especially my bookshelf. Right now, I have it divided by ‘books I’ve read,’ ‘books I haven’t read,’ and ‘books I want to reread.’ Right now, I’m in the middle of this book right here-”

Jinyoung took a moment to discuss the novel he was reading, and Mark once again became immersed in listening to his voice. He made it sound like the most fascinating thing on the planet, and Mark really felt like he could listen to him talking about it for ages—hell, he wouldn’t have even minded if Jinyoung had just gone ahead and read the entire book aloud to him.

“Another thing I have to focus on keeping clean is my bed,” Jinyoung said once he’d finished straightening up his bookshelf. “My room is small, so it can be a pain to change my sheets. That’s why I developed this super effective method to finishing it quickly. Watch—I’ll show you.”

Jinyoung leaned across the bed to grab the corner of the bedding closest to the wall, giving Mark and the camera quite the close up of his as he bent over. Mark backed away so it wasn’t monopolizing the screen for the viewers at home, but couldn’t keep himself from staring all the same. He’d noticed what a nice body Jinyoung had a while ago, but now he was almost oppressively aware of it. It didn’t help that Jinyoung’s entire “super effective method” involved a lot of bending and stooping, especially when it came to getting the fitted sheet on. By time he finished, Mark’s eyes were well-fed and his conscience was incredibly guilty.

“I’ll show you a little bit of how I keep my drawers organized, too,” Jinyoung said, moving on from the bed. “Except not that drawer.” He pointed to the highest. “IGOT6s, can you guess what’s in that drawer? Do you know…? I think IGOT6s know, because their minds are always thinking dirty things. Yes, that is where Jinyoung’s unmentionable things are kept…”

Mark thought for a second that Jinyoung’s eyes flicked up to him for a moment, that sly little smile playing on his lips as he eluded to his—what? Briefs? Boxers? Mark’s mind was already going there, and his cheeks heat up at the guilt of it.

This episode is going to kill me, Mark realized. I am going to be finished off by Park Jinyoung tidying his bedroom.

“How is Minnie doing?” Jinyoung asked when filming wrapped up. “Has she settled into your apartment?”

“Like a princess,” Mark said. He glanced around anxiously—for some reason, Jinyoung still hadn’t indicated that they could leave his bedroom yet, so they were still cramped in there together. “She’s definitely enjoying herself, and I love having her around. Milo likes her, too.”

“I want to visit her sometime,” Jinyoung said, plopping down on his bed. “You live around here, right, hyung?”

“About two blocks or so.” Not that his mind could comprehend having Jinyoung in his apartment. “I’ll bring her around to the company next week, maybe.”

“But then she’ll pay more attention to Youngjae and ignore me,” Jinyoung pouted.

“But she’s already familiar with you. She’s never met Youngjae before.”

“It doesn’t matter. Dogs always choose him over me. I’ll get jealous.”

So freaking cute, Mark thought, biting hard on his lower lip. I’m really not going to be able to make it being in here with him much longer.

“So…” he said, clearing his throat. “We’re all wrapped up here, then? I should probably head back to the office.”

“If you have to,” Jinyoung sighed. “But we’ll be shooting here tomorrow, too.”

“In your bedroom?” Mark asked with dread.

“No, in the kitchen. I’m going to make it broadcast ready this evening, don’t worry. We’re going to have a cooking special.”

JINYOUNG’S WEEKDAY DIARY: DAY FOUR: HOME COOKING

Mark thought it would be easier filming in the kitchen, but when Jinyoung opened the door in a blue apron with a large pair of lips on the front accompanied by the words “KISS THE CHEF,” he was quickly proven wrong.

“Hyung!” Jinyoung said brightly. “Today’s a special day for you! You get to be my taste-tester for the episode.”

“I wasn’t aware you did any cooking in the dorm,” Mark said. “Usually when I’m filming in here, it’s JB.”

“That’s because JB thinks it will give him ‘good leader’ points if he cooks on broadcast,” Jinyoung said. “Well…actually…I don’t really cook much. But I think it’s something I should be good at. My mom makes really good kimchi, and you know, I’m kind of the mother of GOT6, so…” He trailed off. “Anyways, I’ll make something nice for you.”

“All right, I’ll look forward to it, then. Where’d you get that apron?”

“This? Jackson bought it one time when we were in America. He tries to kiss whoever’s wearing it, too.”

“Including you?” Mark asked, with unnecessary sharpness.

“Usually JB, since he does most of the cooking. JB refuses to wear it, but everyone tackles him into it anyways.”

Jinyoung got the kitchen set up with all the ingredients, and they started filming. Jinyoung was making soondubu jigae, which was simple enough, but Mark could tell, having cooked for himself regularly in his own apartment, that Jinyoung really didn’t know his way around the kitchen very well. He could put together the ingredients well enough, but he couldn’t really grasp the concept of ideal cooking temperatures or balancing out seasoning or how to adjust the flavor when it was too spicy or not spicy enough. Still, there was something endearing in Jinyoung’s mingled determination and slightly despairing attitude of his own abilities. It made Mark want to cheer him on and tell him he was doing well—or at least reasonably well, if not completely perfect.

“All right, I think it’s done,” Jinyoung said. “For an objective opinion, I’m going to let the cameraman try it. If it’s good, I’ll eat it. If it’s bad, I’ll give it to the members.”

He dipped his ladle into the pot and emerged with some jigae for Mark to try. Gradually, he lifted it to his lips, and Mark sipped it up. Immediately, he recognized it was way too spicy. His eyes burned, and he had to blink a few times to hold back the immediate moisture that came to his eyes. The overall taste itself wasn’t terrible, but it was still difficult to get down based on the intensity of the spiciness alone.

“Well?” Jinyoung prompted, looking at Mark with eyes that were just as sweet and hopeful as Minnie’s back home, hungry for praise and for someone to tell him that he’d done well. The soondubu jigae was barely edible as it was, but there was no way Mark was going to say that, looking into those eyes. He didn’t want even the smallest bit of hurt to live in them.

“It’s good,” he said, when he was capable of speaking. “I like it.”

The joy in Jinyoung’s expression was worth the bit of deceit. “You do? It’s not too bland?”

“Not bland at all,” Mark said, glad he didn’t need to lie this time.

“Let me try.” Jinyoung took a sip, then wrinkled his nose. “Isn’t this too spicy?”

“I like spicy. But for next time, if you add more stock or some dairy into it, it’ll make it less spicy.”

“Ah, I see.” Jinyoung looked back to the camera. “I’ll give it all to the cameraman, then. JYP staff Mark hyung is filming today. We all really like Mark hyung. The first time he filmed for us was during Real GOT6, and he worked really hard because I kept running around when Jackson was trying to throw water balloons at me. I always feel really apologetic to Mark hyung for being so tiring during filming, so the soondubu jigae will be my apology gift.”

You don’t have to apologize, Mark wanted to say. It’s my job. But saying that didn’t feel true to how he really felt. It was more than a job, at this point. It was an enjoyable way to use his skills while getting to be around this fun and entertaining group.

It was a way to get to see one member in particular, and get to look at him over and over again, even though it was from the other side of the lens.

“Are you sure you really want this?” Jinyoung asked as he packed up the jigae.

“Of course,” Mark said. He’d probably eat every last bite of it too, spicy though it was, since it was something Jinyoung had made for him. “It’s your apology gift, after all. Not that you need to apologize.”

“I absolutely need to apologize,” Jinyoung said sincerely. “You do so much for us, and even though we’re always too loud and energetic, you never complain. I wish we could all do more to thank you and the rest of the staff.”

“Don’t worry about it. Most of us love what we do. And you’re all good guys.”

“Even me?”

“Especially you. You’re always doing kind things for us. You have nothing to be guilty about.”

“Thanks, hyung.” Jinyoung handed him the plastic container full of jigae. Mark could practically feel the heat of it on his fingers. “By the way, would you like to bring Minnie to the filming tomorrow? I was thinking about going to the park, and I thought it would be nice for her to run around for a while.”

“I’m sure she’d like that.” Mark hitched his bag over his shoulder. This would be the last day they’d be meeting up one-on-one, so he was going to enjoy this opportunity to make plans with Jinyoung while it lasted. “I’ll look forward to the next episode, then.”

“I hope so,” Jinyoung said in a soft voice. “I’m really hoping this will be your favorite episode of all.”

JINYOUNG’S WEEKDAY DIARY: DAY FIVE: PARK ADVENTURES

It was a beautiful afternoon as Mark and Minnie headed to meet Jinyoung at the park, and Minnie was already straining on her leash and ready to bound around before they reached Jinyoung where he was sitting on a bench near the entrance. Jinyoung was wearing a hat and face mask to keep himself from being easily recognizable, but Mark could still see his eye whiskers emerge as they approached.

“Let’s walk Minnie before we worry about filming,” Jinyoung said, springing to his feet. “She definitely looks like she wants to stretch her legs. There’s a really nice and long walking path through the woods, if you don’t mind walking around for a while.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mark said. And it did, though he worried about his ability to make it through a private walk with Jinyoung now that he was so frustratingly aware of his attraction to him. Jinyoung was easy to talk to, at least, so no matter how anxious he got internally, he’d still enjoy himself.

The three of them set off down the trail, Minnie leading the way as she sniffed around and barked at the local wildlife. They were quiet for the first few minutes before Jinyoung began to speak.

“Thanks for agreeing to do this, hyung,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of fun, and the fans have really been enjoying the videos.”

“That’s more thanks to you than to me.”

“But I put a lot of effort in when someone like you on the staff is filming. I don’t want it to be boring when you’ve taken time out of your day to handle the camera for me.” Jinyoung smiled. “Especially you. A lot of the other cameramen have poker faces, but you always smile when there’s something funny or look interested when we’re talking. It’s a good feeling.”

“Well. You six are…a very interesting and amusing handful.”

“Do you think about us?” Jinyoung asked suddenly. “I mean…we’re kind of like products to you, aren’t we? I guess when you go home from work for the day, the last thing you want to do is think about what we’re doing or what we’re up to.”

“I don’t view you guys as products,” Mark said, feeling a bit surprised Jinyoung would think so. “You’re people. All very distinct people. And I’m rooting for you guys to succeed not just because you’re from my company, but because I genuinely like all six of you.”

“You do?” Jinyoung looked pleased to hear it. “Who’s your favorite member, then?”

Mark knew a trap when he heard one. If he said it was Jinyoung (the honest answer), Jinyoung would accuse him of just saying that to protect his feelings. If he said another member, Jinyoung would get angry with him for choosing someone else.

“I don’t have a favorite,” Mark said, keeping neutral.

“Oh, come on. You just said we all have distinct personalities. One of us has to be the type you get along with more than the others.”

Mark groaned internally. No way out, then. “I like Yugyeom,” he said, thinking it would be safe to settle on the maknae since the fact that they weren’t at all close in age would make it look like he was just doting on a younger dongsaeng.

This, Jinyoung’s expression told him, was the wrong answer. He looked deeply offended. “Him? That overgrown brat is your favorite?”

“He feels like a little brother.”

“An obnoxious little brother!” To Mark’s surprise, Jinyoung suddenly launched on to him, wrapping his arms around Mark as if he was attempting to turn into a human straight jacket. “Take it back!”

“W-What?”

“Take it back! Pick me! How could you not pick me after we just spent the past four days having fun together?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like you,” Mark protested, trying to squirm away from Jinyoung’s grip. “I just thought if I said you were my favorite member, you’d accuse me of lying to spare your feelings.”

“Would it be a lie?” Jinyoung asked, still holding onto him tightly.

“Not exactly. I mean, of course I like you. I like all of you, all right?”

“Forget about the other members. How much do you like me?”

“Uhhhh…” Mark got the feeling this was going to head into dangerous territory. “Wait, why are we talking about this, again? Shouldn’t we go back and start filming?”

“No,” Jinyoung said firmly. “I already filmed it.”

“What?”

“I already filmed myself in the park this morning using my selfie stick. It aired on V-Live about three hours ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that until now?” Mark asked, baffled. “What was the point of having me come out here if you didn’t have anything to film?”

“So it’s all pointless to you if you’re not doing your job?” Jinyoung looked a little wounded. “I asked you out here because for the last day, I didn’t want there to be a camera between us. I wanted it to feel like a real date, this time.”

Mark felt even more floored, hearing this. “What are you saying?”

“That this was the reason behind all of it! I’m really not so attention hungry that I needed to film a whole series about myself when I could have taken the time off to practice or work on writing a song for the new album. I did it because I wanted to spend time with you, but I knew you would say ‘I can’t meet up with you outside of work’ if I asked you out normally. So I came up with this excuse to take you out to coffee with me, get a pet together so I’d have the excuse to come over to your place one day, have you over to the dorm when the other members aren’t around, cook you something, and take our new dog for a walk. I did it because I wanted to spend my free time with you.” He took a breath. “I really like you, hyung. And I’m grateful you’re always following me with your camera, but I’d like your eyes to focus on me, too.”

Mark really didn’t know what to say at first, he was so caught unawares. It was the exact kind of plan someone sneaky like Jinyoung would come up with, so well-executed that he hadn’t been able to see it coming. There really was no denying that it had worked, too. Mark wouldn’t have met up with him if Jinyoung had asked outright for the sake of professionalism.

What he really couldn’t wrap his head around was the fact that Jinyoung actually liked him enough to put such a plan together. That he’d probably made Mark order that caramel macchiato at the café so it would feel more like a date. That’s he’d really meant it when he’d asked Mark to adopt Minnie ‘with’ him. That quite possibly all that bending over and flaunting in the dorm had been completely intentional.

“You?” Mark said finally, still incredibly dumbfounded. “You, an idol, are interested in me…a cameraman?!?!”

“What’s wrong with being a cameraman?” Jinyoung said defensively. “It’s a good job. Besides, I’d like you if you were a fellow idol. Or an actor. Or a coordi. Or a sewage worker. Or a trash collector. Whatever job you had, I’d like you. I like you because you’re you.” He took Mark’s hand. “Wouldn’t you like me if I wasn’t an idol, hyung?”

“…yes,” he admitted.

“So, what’s the problem, then? We like each other. And I think our first few solo dates went really well, so we should become official.” He paused. “Privately, of course.”

“The problem is that the company—”

“Wait, I’ve thought of this already!” Jinyoung said quickly, already looking proud of himself. “It’s better for me to date you within the company, because it’s easier to get caught if you’re dating someone from the outside. And you and I can’t get caught, because we can go out together and have filming be the excuse because you’re staff. Also, we can’t show up together during recording and raise suspicions because you’re behind the camera, so we’ll never really appear together!” He grinned triumphantly. “It’s perfect!”

“You really have thought this out,” Mark said, feeling somewhat amazed.

“Of course. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make you mine since that time you helped me cheat so I would win charades during Real GOT6. What…you’re not going to tell me my plan didn’t work, are you?”

“Oh, it worked. It worked really, really well.”

Jinyoung grinned from ear-to-ear. “So…? Are you going to date me without your camera getting in between us all the time?”

“What if I happen to like filming you?”

“That’s fine. I happen to like being filmed. But there are some things that are hard to do with a camera in the middle. Like this, for example.” Jinyoung grabbed him by the shoulders, leaning in to press a very firm and exacting kiss on Mark’s lips. You’re mine, his kiss seemed to spell out. So don’t think you’re ever going to pull one on me, because I’ll outmaneuver you and win every time.

Mark kissed him back, holding onto him until Minnie started barking in protest at being ignored. He didn’t think he’d mind being outmaneuvered by this kind of person. Jinyoung was a sly fox to the last, and Mark was finding himself very happy to be trapped in his clutches.​​