Jinyoung glanced to his left as he dabbed the sweat from his face with a towel.  He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he watched Mark gulp down water.  He was going to ask today, he told himself again for the umpteenth time that day.  What’s the worst that could happen? 

“What’s with the stupid grin on your face?”

Jinyoung looked away quickly and buried his face in the towel.  Acting as if he hadn’t been sneaking glances, he looked up at the speaker with his usual poker face and said, “What do you mean?”  He grabbed his water and took a gulp, his heart thudding loudly in his chest.  Jackson raised an eyebrow and glanced in the direction he’d been looking at before.  Before he got discovered, Jinyoung packed his towel away and slung his bag over his shoulder.  “I’ll head out first,” he said, patting Jackson on the shoulder before making his escape.

He arrived at the van first.  Soon after, the rest of the members came pouring out of the practice room and into the van.  Jinyoung made sure to sit next to Mark as the latter climbed in first.  Sitting extra close, Jinyoung leaned over, pretending to search for his seatbelt.  The scent of Mark’s musk and sweat seemed to make his stomach tingle with glee. 

He blinked, however, as a backpack appeared out of nowhere and hit him in the side of the head.  Looking up with surprise, he stared back at Jackson’s cheesy grin with slight annoyance.

“Oops,” Jackson said, hugging his backpack, “My bad, Junior.”  He sat back and continued to grin like an idiot.

Giving him a sarcastic smile, Jinyoung sat back in his seat and snuck a glance at Mark to his left.  The guy had fallen asleep in his seat, his head leaning into the window. 

The ride back to the dorm was quiet; most of the members had fallen asleep from exhaustion.  By the time the van finally arrived, it was close to three in the morning.  The members shuffled out one by one with sleepy eyes and dry mouths.

“Hyung,” Jinyoung muttered when only he and Mark were left in the van, “Wake up.  We’re here.”  He placed a hand on Mark’s thigh and gave it a gentle shake. 

Mark opened his eyes blearily and blinked a few times.  Nodding silently, he followed Jinyoung out of the van and into the dorm building.  As they all filed into their dorm, their exhaustion reached its peak.

“I’ll shower tomorrow,” Bambam muttered before dragging his feet to his room.  He was seconded by Yugyeom, who quickly followed with closed eyes.  Without another word, they closed their bedroom door and left the older ones to their own.

“Eh, dirty,” Jackson sighed, “Dibs on the shower.”

“Wait,” Jaebum called, rubbing his eyes and walking quickly towards the washroom, “Let me pee and wash my face.  I’ll be five minutes, tops.”  Without waiting for an answer, he walked inside and closed the door.

“Screw it,” Youngjae yawned, walking into his room, “I can pee tomorrow.”  Too lazy to turn on the light, he tossed his bag to the side of his bed and collapsed onto his bed.  Soon, his soft snores filled the room.

Jinyoung glanced at Mark, who seemed much more awake now.  He couldn’t risk Mark going to bed first before he had a chance to ask.  Keeping an eye on the red haired boy, he busied himself as he rummaged through his bag and waited for everyone else to either sleep or shower.  He nibbled his bottom lip to hide his smile as Jaebum came out of the bathroom and Jackson took his place.  Once Jaebum’s bedroom door closed and the sound of Jackson’s shower bustled from the bathroom, Jinyoung decided it was time to make his move.

“Hyung,” he said, coming over to sit next to Mark, who had pulled out tablet and was playing games, “What are you doing?”  He looked at the screen quickly before settling his eyes on Mark’s face again.

“Hmm,” Mark replied without look up from his game, “I want to shower before I sleep.  I’m not so tired anymore so you can shower after Jackson.”

“Oh,” Jinyoung nodded, not sure of how to bring up the question, “Thanks.”  Deciding on aegyo, he leaned forward and placed his head in Mark’s lap.  The latter looked at him with mild surprise before returning his attention to the game.  “Mark-hyung,” Jinyoung started, looking up at Mark’s concentrated face with a flutter of his heart, “Do you have plans tomorrow?  We don’t have anything scheduled so…”

“Mmm,” Mark replied, a small frown on his petite face as he moved his fingers on the tablet, “Nothing planned.  Why?” 

“Want to go to the amusement park with me?” Jinyoung asked, excitement in his voice as he waited, “We can have dinner at this fancy hotel afterwards.  I heard they have amazing steak.”

“Steak?” Mark asked, his concentration broken by the promise of meat, “Oh, that sounds good!”  He gave Jinyoung a toothy grin.  “Yeah, let’s do it,” he said, nodding.

Barely suppressing the urge to throw his fist into the air with glee, Jinyoung sat up and returned the smile with his own.  “Okay, great!” he said, his voice higher than usual, “Let’s meet at the amusement park at ten?”

“Why don’t we just go together?” Mark asked, his attention back on the game, “Do you have to be somewhere before?”

“Y-Yeah,” Jinyoung replied, hoping Mark didn’t catch his stutter, “I need to run a small errand beforehand.”  He wasn’t completely lying; he had already made an appointment with the stylist for eight in the morning so he could look his best for his long awaited date.

“Okay,” Mark nodded, looking up as Jackson came out of the bathroom, “Oh, done?”

“Yeah,” Jackson replied, drying his hair with a small towel.

“Go shower,” Mark said, nudging Jinyoung and nodding towards the bathroom.

“Yeah,” Jinyoung replied, getting up out of his seat and all but prancing to the bathroom.  As he closed the door, he sighed and pumped his fists into the air.  He didn’t even need to wash away his exhaustion anymore because, suddenly, he was feeling lighter than air.

“What was that about?” Jackson asked, raising an eyebrow as he took Jinyoung’s place beside Mark, “What does he look so happy?”  He leaned into Mark playfully as he placed his wet head against the other’s shoulder.

“You’re wet,” Mark complained, shying away from his head, “Get away.”  He pushed back and returned his attention back towards the tablet.

“What were you guys talking about?” Jackson asked, suspicious.  He’d noticed Jinyoung sneaking glanced the entire day; he was sure something was up.

“Hmm…” Mark replied, absentmindedly, “We’re going for steak tomorrow.”  He nibbled his lip as his fingers moved deftly across the screen.  “Oh, amusement park first,” he added as an afterthought.

“Amusement park?” Jackson repeated, bewildered, “You two are going to the park?”  When Mark nodded without looking at him, he added, “Alone?”

“Mmn,” Mark confirmed, his eye still fixed on the screen.

Jackson frowned as he considered the idea.  He couldn’t quite understand why the idea irked him.  It wasn’t like it was a date or anything… right?  He looked at Mark and then at the closed bathroom door where Jinyoung was showering.  He felt a clack of electricity run through his brain as the bulb in his head came to life.

“That sneaky rascal,” he muttered, frowning.  It was a date, he was sure of it.  Without a second thought, he grabbed Mark’s arm and gave it a tug.  The latter looked up with surprise and blinked a few times.  “I’m coming too,” Jackson said, slipping his fingers in between Mark’s hand, “Okay?”

“O-Oh,” Mark replied, slightly confused, “Yeah why not?”  Pulling his hand back gently, he fell silent again as he returned to his game.

Getting up from his seat, Jackson nodded with determination.  A date?  Not if he could help it.  With that burning thought in his mind, he said, “I’m going to bed.  What time tomorrow?”

“Okay,” Mark replied, looking up briefly and giving him a quick smile, “We’re meeting at the park tomorrow for ten.”

“Why aren’t we going together?” Jackson asked, raising an eyebrow.  In the background, he heard the sound of running water come to a stop.

“Jinyoung needs to go somewhere first,” Mark said, setting down the tablet and stretching, “We’ll go on our own.”

Jackson snorted as he nodded in response.  He would have bet a hundred dollars that Jinyoung was going to a stylist first.  Before he could respond, the shower door opened and Jinyoung walked out in his pajamas.

“My turn,” Mark said, scratching his hair, “Night you two.”  With that, he shuffled into the bathroom and closed the door behind him with a soft click.

“Still up?” Jinyoung asked, looking at Jackson.

“Not for long,” Jackson said, giving him a toothy grin, “I have plans tomorrow so I better get to sleep.”

“Oh yeah?” Jinyoung replied, his face lighting up at the idea of Jackson having plans, “Well you better get to sleep then.  I’m tucking in too; got to get up early tomorrow.”

“I’ll bet,” Jackson replied, waving at him before sauntering into his and Mark’s bedroom, “Sleep tight Junior.”  Without waiting for a response, he lied down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling.

He smiled at the anticipation of the date.  He hadn’t been to an amusement park in a long time and Mark was the perfect companion.  Of course Jinyoung might be a bit of a third wheel but… who’s counting?

Jinyoung smoothed the fringe of his hair for the twentieth time since ten minutes ago.  He glanced at his reflection in a nearby parked car again and nodded in approval.  Adjusting the sunglasses on his face, he tugged on his blazer and did his best to go unnoticed.  He felt jittery inside; he was sure the six cups of coffee he’d had something to do with it.  He couldn’t help it; he was excited.  He could still remember the feeling of bliss as he hung up the phone with the hotel.  He had enough cash in his pocket, had booked a reservation for dinner and had reserved a hotel room under his name.  Now all that was left was for his main character to arrive…

Jinyoung’s hand paused mid sweep as a familiar black van pulled up in front of him.  He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as the door slid open.  Out climbed Mark dressed in a soft black beanie and sunglasses.  As soon as he stepped out of the van, he pulled his lips into a wide toothy smile and opened his arms at Jinyoung.

“Jinyoung-ah,” he called, his voice soft as he walked into a hug, “Did you wait long?”

“Of course not,” Jinyoung replied, holding onto his hyung for a little bit longer than usual, “How was traffic?”  He beamed as he looked at Mark; the boy looked gorgeously innocent.

“Traffic wasn’t bad at all, Junior.”

Jinyoung blinked as Jackson climbed out of the van with a goofy grin on his face.  He wanted to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing right but there was no mistaking it… Jackson had just crashed his date.  “Ahaha…” he said, his face cracking with irritation.

“Jackson wanted to come too,” Mark said, beaming at them with innocent ignorance, “It’s more fun with more people anyways, right?”  He smiled at Jinyoung expectantly, his teeth glimmering in the sunlight.

Jinyoung stretched his face into a grin as a vein popped in the side of his forehead.  “R-Right,” he agreed, laughing awkwardly, “Hahaha…”

Nodding, Mark began walking towards the ticket booth with a bounce in his step as the other two followed in thick silence.  It was difficult not to pick up on the tension but Mark remained blissfully unaware as he looked up at the park with starry eyes.

Jinyoung threw an arm over Jackson’s shoulders and gave him a forced smile.  “What are you doing?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Jackson returned his smile with equal force and looped his arm around Jinyoung’s waist as he replied through stiff lips, “Whatever do you mean, Junior?  I’m here to have fun.”

The two forced laughter as they held on to each other and battled with subtle strength.  Jinyoung tightened his arm around Jackson’s neck in an attempt to strangle him.  In return, Jackson squeezed his arm tighter around Jinyoung and slapped his other hand onto Jinyoung’s stomach.  Again, the two erupted into awkward and angry laughter.

“I’m so glad we’re all here,” Mark said as he looked at them with a wide smile, “This was a great idea Jinyoung-ah.  It’s too bad the others couldn’t join us too.” 

“Yeah, Jinyoungie,” Jackson said, smacking his hand against Jinyoung’s stomach again, “Great idea.”  He gave the other a knowing grin before shrugging out of his neck choke and walking over to Mark.  “Let’s get going before the lines get too long,” he said, wrapping an arm around Mark’s neck and leaning his head closer, “Right Mark?”

Jinyoung could feel his blood pressure rising as Jackson gave him a provocative grin.  “Right,” he said, his face feeling stiff from all the forced smiling.  Walking over to the ticket booth, he nodded politely and pulled out his wallet.  “Hello,” he said, “Two ti…”  He glanced behind him at Mark’s beaming face before he sighed and said, “Three tickets please.”  Nodding with thanks, he took the tickets and returned to the other two.  He handed one to Mark, who accepted it with thanks.  He held out another one for Jackson but as the latter reached out for it, he found himself gripping to the ticket tightly with reluctance.

“Thanks,” Jackson said as he yanked the ticket from Jinyoung’s hand, “Lunch is on me then.”

“Of course,” Jinyoung said as he pulled Mark away and looped arms with him, “Let’s go, Mark.”  With that, he began pulling Mark towards the gate.

“O-Oh,” Mark replied, slightly confused.  Shrugging it off, he followed with a wide smile as they approached the gate.  “Let’s do rollercoasters and the Ferris wheel,” he said with excitement, “I haven’t been to the park in such a long time.”

“Whatever you want,” Jackson said as he looped his arm around Mark’s free arm, “Let’s have fun today!”  He gave Jinyoung a crooked smile and tightened his hold on Mark.

“Let’s,” Jinyoung replied through gritted teeth as he put his ticket into the machine and walked through the gate. 

Oh he was going to have fun, Jinyoung thought with conviction as the three of them finally walked into the park.  But first, he was going to have to get rid of the annoying third wheel.

Author's notes:

So I originally intended to write this as a oneshot.  But, if you've read my other works, you'll know I prefer to do some legwork before jumping into the .  As I wrote I realized that just this part was over six pages long so I decided to split it into two parts!  Part 2 is coming soon so stay tuned!