Mark ended up sleeping over at Jinyoung’s for convenience sake, and since Jaebum helped carry him home, he stayed as well. With Mark sprawled over the sofa, Jinyoung and Jaebum squeezed on the bed, reminding them very much of their high school days when they went on random trips. Nonetheless, Jinyoung did not get much sleep as his mind wandered next door, his thoughts filled with what Youngsoon was up to. However he could not bring himself to go over, not when Mark was around. In the end Jinyoung found himself standing on his balcony with Mark’s snoring mixing together with the sound of Youngsoon’s wind chime as he greeted the morning.

“Not a bad view to wake up to,” Jaebum mused, joining Jinyoung on the balcony. “Must be weird for you though, having your future boss snoring away on your sofa.”

“Hmmm,” Jinyoung replied in a distracted manner, his eyes focusing on the yellow Converse shoes on the balcony next door.

Jaebum followed his gaze and let out a low whistle.

“So those are the shoes?”

“Those are the shoes,” Jinyoung sighed, fatigue washing over his face.

“They definitely look like they’ve lived out their lifespan,” Jaebum commented in a hushed voice.

Jinyoung offered no verbal respond, suddenly feeling paranoid of Youngsoon listening in to their conversation. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Youngsoon emerged from her flat while holding a plate of biscuits, her hair tied up in a loose bun.

“I woke up a bit early so baked honey oat biscuits to kill time…” Youngsoon mumbled timidly. “Consider it as thanks and sorry for troubling you…”

As Youngsoon said that, her eyes drifted towards Jinyoung’s flat and the latter figured out that Youngsoon knew what had transpired the previous evening. She knew that Mark was in his flat.

“I wanted to make hangover soup but I didn’t have the ingredients.” Youngsoon smiled gently.

This was a sad smile filled with guilt and disappointment towards herself. Yet it somehow made Jaebum feel like a kid that had been caught cheating by his teacher.

Eyeing the plate of biscuits, Jinyoung’s eyebrows furrowed together in panic when he saw the bandage wrapped around Youngsoon’s hand. Youngsoon seemed to have read his mind because before he could ask what happened, Youngsoon handed the plate of biscuits to him and smiled that smile; the smile that was seemingly pleasant and welcoming but triggered a sense of unease in Jinyoung.

“I’ll be heading off to work then.”

With that said, Youngsoon excused herself.

“I think I understand what Mark meant by the smile,” Jaebum whispered in a low voice.

Pursuing his lips, Jinyoung elbowed Jaebum in the stomach. Reentering the flat, Jinyoung come face to face with a groggy looking Mark sitting upright on the sofa and staring blankly into nothing. Jinyoung had no idea how long Mark had been awake or if he heard their brief conversation with Youngsoon. Either way, Jinyoung saw no benefit of beating around the bush and decided to be direct.

“Youngsoon made biscuits.”

Jinyoung placed the plate on the coffee table just within reach for Mark and silently observed the older male’s reaction.

“Silly girl.” Mark shook his head though there was no anger in his voice. “Her bad habits really haven’t changed. She’s apologising again.”

Reaching for a biscuit, Mark snapped it in half, relishing at the clean sound and how perfectly baked it was. Jinyoung and Jaebum remained standing, unsure of how to behave.

“These are my favourite biscuits. It’s my mum’s recipe… my biological mother’s,” Mark hummed softly with a glint of nostalgia in his eyes. “I have a really annoying sister don’t I?”

Despite saying that, Mark’s lips curled