A week passed by and things between Mark and Jinyoung weren't getting any easier but they weren't getting harder either. After their talk that night a week ago, the two have definitely tried to keep things platonic between them. Of course, that wasn't very easy to accomplish. Seeing that the more time they spent together, the more they felt themselves falling for each other. Still, it was nothing that either guys couldn't handle. After all, they have a lot more pressing matters to attend to. 

Mark was kept busy with a new project that he was working with another elite called Jaebeom, who works down at the hospital. Being elite, it is no surprise to Jinyoung that Jaebeom looks like a model. He is taller than Mark by an inch and also has an impressive body that could make girls scream in appreciation as he walked by. With long dark hair, much much longer than the usual length for guys, a delicate jaw, sharp cheekbones and a straight nose, he looks handsome in every sense of the word. His personality however, didn't really click with Jinyoung. He doesn't seem to have this aura of professionalism that most other elites innately possessed, instead giving Jinyoung the impression of a mean popular guy from one of those old high school movies. All this is however, only what Jinyoung gathered from Mark's multiple ing sessions about the guy. Jinyoung has only seen Jaebeom but has never met him in person so he couldn't really judge but he trusts Mark enough to know that what he says were all probably true.

Jinyoung, on the other hand, was busy with his lessons with Raymond. So far, he has been brought to every important facility in the city center, taught about elite etiquette and almost everything elite-related you could think of. Raymond has even started trying to find Jinyoung's specialization, something that Jinyoung himself isn't quite sure of. 

With everything that Jinyoung was expected to learn, it was no surprise that although it has only been a week, he is thoroughly exhausted, physically and mentally. So a quiet night was just what Jinyoung needed. Earlier, Raymond has given Jinyoung the day off, giving him the opportunity to relax a little after what Raymond deemed was a very productive week. To the elite, Jinyoung has been the perfect understudy, despite being brought up an indigene. Jinyoung was hardworking, enthusiastic and professional, something that made it a joy for Raymond to mentor. So in his mind, it seemed only fitting to give the boy a break once in a while. 

So Jinyoung lies in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Sure, he has spent a good portion of the day lazing around but he doesn't feel rested up at all. He had more than enough rest to recuperate from the exhaustion from the week prior but still, he feels lethargic and tired, something which baffled him. A knock on his door draws his attention. "Come in." He announces. 

The door opens and standing at the doorway was Mark. "Hey."

"What's up?" Jinyoung says, hanging his head over the side of the bed, looking at Mark upside down. His eyes follow the elite as he makes his way over to the couch. 

"Nothing. Just got back from the hospital. I seriously cannot wait to get this thing done with. I don't think I can take Jaebeom for much longer." Mark replies, laying down on the couch.

"I can imagine." Jinyoung chuckles, returning his gaze to the ceiling. 

"Imagining is only half as bad as living it Jinyoung. The guy seriously doesn't know when to stop talking." Mark sighs, rubbing his eyes. "Anyway, what about you? I heard Dad gave you a day off."

"Yeah. I don't know... seems so unproductive. I'm bored out of my mind." Jinyoung shrugs.

"Wanna swap places? You go to the hospital and I laze around the whole day." Mark jokes, propping himself off the couch a little to look at Jinyoung. 

"I think I'm good." Waving Mark's comment off.

"You could have come with me today you know? I'm pretty sure it would have been better than cooping yourself up in this room the whole day." Mark shares, getting off the couch and walking over to the bed, sitting down next to Jinyoung. 

"Yeah well... I was exhausted. Plus, I wouldn't want to distract you from your work." 

"You distract me regardless whether you're there or not." Mark answers, making Jinyoung blush. "I can't stop thinking about it."

"About what?" Jinyoung asks, pushing himself up to a sitting position. 

"Our kiss that night." Mark replies, making himself blush a deep crimson with his confession. 

"Oh?" Jinyoung had the same thoughts but at least Raymond was keeping him busy all throughout this week that Jinyoung's already exhausted mind can't seem to linger on those thoughts for a long period.

"Please don't think that I'm trying to make things difficult again. I swear I'm not. I just thought you should know." Mark defends, worried that Jinyoung was going to blow up again like last time. They have talked things out so Mark isn't sure how Jinyoung would react with him bringing up the matter again. Jinyoung pops a side smile, letting Mark know that he wasn't angry at the elite's statement. 

"Yeah well... I'd be lying if I say I hadn't been thinking about it either."

"Glad to hear." Mark says, heaving a sigh. "Well, we better head down soon. Dinner should be about ready. I heard my mom's gonna be home tonight." He adds, getting off the bed. 

"Hey, wait." Jinyoung stops Mark, jumping off the bed too. "Are you okay?" He asks, concerned for the other man who came to his room unannounced. 

"As okay as I'll ever be." Mark gives a small smile but Jinyoung knows he wasn't happy. You didn't need a psychology background to see that. Feeling somewhat sorry for Mark, Jinyoung did something that he knows he was going to regret later. He leans towards the elite and gives Mark a small peck on the lips, shocking the latter. 

                                     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Better?" Jinyoung blushes at the bold gesture, making Mark smile his megawatt smile, this time a more genuine and happier one. Mark hasn't expected Jinyoung to do that, so imagine his surprise when Jinyoung suddenly gives him a small kiss. Of course they can't be together but knowing that Jinyoung was there for him at all should make him happy enough. Did he still feel a little sad by that fact? Of course but Mark reminds himself that he should be happy with what he has now given the circumstances. 

                                    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Much. Come on. Let's go." Mark says, exiting the room with Jinyoung at his heels. Jinyoung on the other hand, was feeling somewhat down himself too. Probably because Mark was so down than anything else earlier. He does feel somewhat responsible although it wasn't his fault at all. But still, it's Mark's attraction to him that caused it so he does have some role to play. 

"So you said your mom's here today?" Jinyoung converses, trying to divert the topic. Throughout the past week, the mansion had been totally devoid of Mrs. Tuan. Mark had mentioned to Jinyoung that his mother usually stays at a small apartment near her work area so it wasn't really unusual for her not to be home. 

"Yeah." Mark nods.

"Is it abnormal if I am getting a little nervous at meeting her again?" Jinyoung confesses, fidgeting already with his fingers and touching his right ear from time to time.

"After the great conversation you two had the last time? Why on earth would you be nervous?" Mark mocks, silently cooing at Jinyoung's adorable habit when he's nervous. 

"You can pull back on the sarcasm. You're as bad as Steve." Jinyoung deadpans, slapping Mark in the arm. 

"I thought you liked his sarcasm." Mark continues to joke.

"There is something called too much of a good thing." Jinyoung finalizes, finally reaching the kitchen. 

"What's a good thing?" Steve asks. Jinyoung was about to reply when the smell of food assaults his senses. His eyes closes in euphoria as he breathes in the heavenly smell. 

"Whatever you're cooking. That's the good thing." Jinyoung exclaims, mouth almost drooling. 

"Better grab a tissue before you form a puddle." Mark teases, smirking as the elite walks over to the dinning table. 

"Make sure to get me a healthy portion." Jinyoung informs the robot, following Mark to the table. 

"Sure thing."

As Jinyoung takes his seat beside Mark, Raymond comes waltzing in with Dorine on his arm. "Ah... seems like we're last to arrive." Raymond says, smiling as he walks Dorine over to her seat. 

"Well it's always nice to be fashionably late." Dorine says, smiling to her husband. It was the first time that Jinyoung has ever seen Mark's mother smile and he could honestly say that he preferred the look on her. Their first encounter made him think she was just scary. Now with that smile, she looks about as warm as his own mother. 

"A minute isn't really considered late Mom." Mark cuts the couple off, shaking his head. 

"Well, punctuality is everything on Selene." She replies as Raymond takes his seat beside his wife. Just then, Steve comes in, expertly balancing four plates in his arms and laying each down in front of everyone. After that, Steve quickly disappears back into the kitchen. Jinyoung looks down at the plate of food in front of him and breaths in the amazing smell. When he asked for a healthy portion, Steve really went all out. The portion on his plate a noticeable difference with the other three. 

"I see you like the food." Raymond smirks, looking at Jinyoung's overflowing plate, making the young man blush. "Oh, no need to be embarrassed. I'm happy that you're settling in nicely here."

"How could I not? What with the hospitality you all have shown me." Jinyoung gratefully says. 

"Oh before I forget, your brother sends his regards." Dorine informs, directing her statement to Mark. At first, Jinyoung thought he heard wrong. 

"Oh? How is Yugyeom doing?" Mark replies, basically confirming to Jinyoung that he had in fact heard correctly. 

"Good. He's coping well." Dorine replies. Finally, the shock of it wears off and Jinyoung finds himself able to speak. 

"Wait... you have a brother?" He asks, eyes wide, looking to Mark. 

"Yeah. Didn't I mention that before?" Mark confusingly asks to Jinyoung. 

"No... you didn't. I think I would have remembered." Jinyoung points out.

"Hmm... well quite frankly, I have other things on my mind so excuse me if I forget that fact." Mark replies. Jinyoung knows the implications of Mark's comment. What with everything going on between the two of them, something like that may have been overlooked when your thoughts are dominated by only one other person. 

"Well with something like the hospital upgrade, I'll be surprised if you did have other things on your mind." Raymond replies to his son, to which Mark just smiled and nodded in agreement but Jinyoung knows the real reason. 

Sure, Raymond might have bought the idea but Dorine doesn't seem so convinced. As Jinyoung looks at her, her brows are furrowed as her eyes study both him and Mark. A sideways glance and Jinyoung could see that Mark has also noticed his mother's intent gaze as well. Jinyoung thinks that maybe Mark had been a little too careless with his easy comment. Dorine, after all, is a person who knows the human psyche inside and out like the back of her hand. 

Feeling awkward under her long stare, both boys return to their meal as Raymond goes on to chatter about something in his work, apparently unaware of the building tension between the other three people at the table. Eventually, Dorine breaks her gaze, returning to her meal and listening to her husband as he continues to speak about something. Neither Jinyoung nor Mark were listening though, both slightly unnerved after Dorine's evaluation. Both of them wonder what was going through the elite woman's head, her expression totally masking any indication of her thoughts. 

For the rest of the meal, she doesn't give either boys a second glance which both scares and relaxes Jinyoung. For one, she may have brushed off Mark's comment as nothing more than work related, like Raymond thought. On the other hand, she may have just known enough that no further probing was necessary. Jinyoung prays that it was the former though. The last thing he needs right now is for someone to know about his and Mark's personal predicaments.

"I'm going to see if there's any dessert." Mark informs the people on the table, getting up and shooting Jinyoung a short look. He immediately catches on. 

"I'll go with you." He says, getting up and following Mark into the kitchen. Entering, Jinyoung is glad that Steve wasn't there. Meaning that the two of them could talk in private. 

"Okay. I think my mom knows something's up." Mark drops, turning to face Jinyoung. 

"No Sherlock. D