The match went on for a while with both teams neck in neck but in the end, Mark’s team won. She cheered as loud as she could before making her way down to the boys and congratulating them. She rushed over to Jackson who picked her up again in a hug and then set her down, his eyes lit up with excitement and mirth.

She patted his arms before going to make her way over to Mark. But as she walked over, she spotted Taehyung talking to Yoongi and decided to go say hi to them.

“Hey, Tae! Hi Yoongi, been a while, huh?”

Taehyung’s face brightened. “Youra!” He looked her up and down. “I see you’re a fan of the opposition, and to think I thought you were my friend.” He said with a hand on his heart.

Yoongi swatted Taehyung away before looking at Youra. “Always so dramatic, this boy. But hey, it has been a while. How’ve you been?”

“Been alright, I can’t believe I got to see you play again though. You were always the star player in high school.”

“Yeah, well this star player seems to be losing his touch.” He sighed. “I see from your cheeks that you’re still friends with Mark?”

Youra nodded. “And friends with Jackson, as you can see.” She gestured to his jersey that she was still wearing.”

Yoongi chuckled. “You guys were always so inseparable.” He looked at the time on his watch. “Ooh, wish I could stay longer but I have a girlfriend to go attend to. Tae, you coming?”

The younger shook his head and Yoongi nodded before saying goodbye to them and walking away.

Youra would talk to Taehyung a little longer but she remembered that she had to go see Mark so she hastily apologised and said goodbye before running off to Mark.

She found him to still be in the same spot that she had seen him last so after sparing one last glance at Taehyung, she made her way over and immediately threw her arms around him. But to her shock however, he merely grunted before muttering about being busy and slowly removing her arms from him.

She stood there in utter shock at how he had brushed her off. It was like they were back to being kids again. She would excitedly run to him and he would merely look at her before turning away, like he could care less about what she did.

But they had moved past that, they were best friends now.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She needed an explanation and she needed it now.

She abruptly pulled him away from his conversation by the back of his jersey to the outside of the court, where people were starting to leave. She moved to a more quieter part of the street and let go of him.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Couldn’t you see I was talking to someone in there?”

“No, what the hell is wrong with you? You’ve been acting so weird today! Obviously, something’s been bothering you. So spit it out already.”

“Nothing’s been bothering me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I would like to get back to my conversation.”

He turned to leave but Youra grabbed his arm. “Well, you’re not done with this one yet. Why are you acting like this? You purposely avoided Jackson during the game and now you’re avoiding me. Did we do something wrong?”

As always, Youra always figured that she was in the wrong. It was a childhood habit, it seemed sort of vain to assume that everything was about her, but it was a genuine worry she always had in the back of her head.

“You know, I thought I knew you guys. Turns out I don’t.”

“Xa mi za?”

He scoffed before glaring at her. “You think I didn’t notice how close you and Jackson have become? You think I’m blind to the fact that my two best friends are dating, if not blatantly flirting with each other?”

“Oh my God, you think,” She let out a stunned laugh. “You think Jackson and I are dating?”

“What else am I supposed to think? I saw you the other day at the court in his arms. You guys literally walked past me and were apparently too busy staring into each other’s eyes to even notice that I was standing right there. And you think I didn’t see you guys acting all lovey-dovey in front of the team? Because I did.”

“Mark, is this what you’re upset about? That we didn’t tell you we were ‘dating’? Becau-”

“Yes, that’s what I’m upset about! God damn it, do you have any idea what that made me feel like? I haven’t seen you in forever Choi, but you seem just fine without me!” He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands. “I’m done with this conversation.”

He turned around and Youra grabbed his hand and tugged. “Wait a damn second, will you?”

He turned towards her and shouted, “I don’t want to hear anything from you, Youra!” She flinched and moved backward. He looked at her and he could tell she was hurt. It wasn’t everyday Mark Tuan shouted at his best friend. “Look, I’m tired. I’m going to go inside. Please don’t follow me.”

And with that, he stormed back inside, leaving Youra outside in tears, smudging the paint on her face in the process.

-

Mark felt horrible.

He didn’t need to stay and see Youra’s face to tell she was crying.

Because of him.

He knew the moment he entered the basketball court again and looked at the guys he was once having a conversation with that he was no longer in the mood to talk. There was just too much anger coursing through him and he felt like if he spoke to someone in this state, he would end up shouting at them too.

And he had already caused too much damage.

The trio of them had always been a very emotional group growing up, after Mark had given in and become their friend, of course. They were the type of friends who if ever they saw each other sad or in pain, they would automatically feel sad as well. It was like they were somewhat telepathic in that sense where they could sense each other’s feelings.

So imagining Youra crying was really messing with Mark’s head.

Why had he shouted at her like that?

It was obvious she was trying to explain and understand why he was angry in the first place. But perhaps that was why Mark had felt even more angry in that moment, because it seemed like Youra was oblivious to what he was feeling.

And he felt betrayed, he felt like he was being lied to, being kept out of the loop.

All their life, Youra had tried so hard to get his attention, so hard to make him her friend. And he had gotten used to the attention she gave him, gotten used to her in every way possible. But now to imagine that her and Jackson weren’t even able to notice him anymore or were too busy to even hang out with him, made him feel like a kid again.

All alone.

He grabbed his things from the locker room and exited from the alternate exit of the court, not wanting to see Youra if she was still outside. He walked past the boys of GOT7 who called him over to come celebrate his team’s win but he ignored them. He didn’t want to deal with anyone tonight.

Jackson tried catching up with him but he merely glared at him and Jackson understood that was something probably on his mind, he had been pretty angry during and before the match, so he gave up.

Leaving Mark to walk home, alone and in silence.

Mark was a deep thinker, he was the sort of guy who liked being alone with his thoughts. He sort of grew out of this as he grew up with people all around him telling him that he needed to talk more but it was an instinct that he believed was hardwired into him. This was just how he functioned.

He thought back to why he felt so much anger. On the surface level, he told himself that it was because he felt betrayed and he felt like he was being ignored by some of the people he cared about the most.

But deep down, he could tell that there was more to this anger, this frustration.

He tried imagining if things were different, trying to catch the main theme or element that seemed to enrage him so much. He thought of Jackson dating a girl other than Youra. He imagined him introducing her to the group, smiling more yet not hanging out as much as he used to with him and Youra.

The thought initially made him sad, to think that Jackson wouldn’t be in his life as much as he used to was upsetting but at the same time, he was also happy for him. Because he knew in the end that if either Youra or him ever needed Jackson, he would always be there for them.

So that clearly wasn’t the problem.

He then imagined Youra dating a guy and doing all the things Jackson did in the previous scenario, and he felt uneasy. He imagined himself keeping a close eye on the guy, trying to make sure Youra was happy, and overall not having a good feeling about him. He imagined getting into fights with Youra over her boyfriend and Youra vehemently defending the guy, and Mark’s fists tightened.

So this was the problem.

The problem clearly related back to Youra, considering his blood was getting boiled just by the mere idea of her being with another guy.

What did that mean?

He felt protective of her?

Wait,