Mark doesn't ever recall his leader getting sick. But there he is now, in the dead of the night, sitting on the couch, coughing and sniffling as he bundles up in blankets, his computer being the only source of light, shivering ever so slightly in the warm dorm.

"Jaebum, you okay?"

Mark asks quietly as he gets closer. Jaebum only nods in response, and hold out a hand to stop Mark from advancing.

"Don't come close to me hyung."

His raspy voice sounds clearly in the silent night, but Mark can see the amount of effort Jaebum has to put to even make a sound. So he turns and heads to the kitchen, leaving a slightly dazed and confused Jaebum behind. And just as Jaebum is wondering if he has done something to make Mark angry, the younger returns with a cup of warm water and some pills. 

"Take this."

Jaebum gives a wide smile which causes Mark's heartbeat to increase just a little faster. He doesn't need words to express his thanks, that smile is enough, Mark thinks.

"Get some sleep, see you tomorrow."

Mark pushes Jaebum lightly to lie on the couch, taking the pen and booklet away from the leader and puts them away on the floor. After making sure Jaebum is comfortable and not going to continue his work, Mark turns off the computer and leaves for his room, totally forgetting his purpose of waking up in the first place.

"Goodnight Mark-hyung. Sleep well."

He hears Jaebum's voice, soft and weak, just as he closes the door.

Mark wonders how Jaebum always seem to care for others more than himself.

--

Mark wakes up the next day to find the couch empty and a familiar voice and laughters coming from the kitchen. He walks in, finding Jaebum, Jinyoung and Jackson laughing and joking around, scrambled eggs and toasts on their plates.

"Oh Mark-hyung!"

Jackson's loud voice almost hurts his head but Mark smiles anyway. 

"Morning, breakfast?"

In contrast, Jaebum's soft voice sounds soothing, and Marks gives a natural smile and nods to Jaebum's question. Jaebum's voice still has the underlying hoarseness in it, Mark notes. Just as Jaebum gets up from his seat to serve some breakfast for Mark, Youngjae and Yugyeom enters the kitchen as well.

"Hurry up and eat! Then let's go celebrate Mark-hyung's birthday!" 

Jinyoung, being the only who has finished his breakfast, can't remain still and he sing-songs and moves about. Right, his birthday is coming up soon, tomorrow, to be exact. He has almost forgot about it.

"Calm down Jinyoung-ah. We'll go as soon as possible, why are you so excited anyway."

Jaebum asks as Mark feels a twinge in his heart, he doesn't know why, but hearing Jaebum call Jinyoung so intimately makes him feel uncomfortable. 

"Mark-hyung, what do you want to do later?"

"Cycling? No, bowling."

He suddenly misses the times he went cycling, but thinking of Jaebum's condition, bowling will be a much better choice. But Jaebum's stare is unnerving him, it's almost as if Jaebum knows what he is thinking.

"Let's go cycling, I miss the feeling."

And as Jaebum says the words, Mark's convinced that Jaebum can read people's minds.

--

The trip to the Han river is silent, for Mark anyway, the rest of the group is still as noisy. He, by nature, is the silent type, choosing to observe instead of participate. He observes anything, anyone, at any point of time, and the object of his observation during the trip is none other than Im Jaebum. Mark doesn't usually focus on anybody, but recently, through some unknown forces, his leader has been gaining his attention for more than half the time. And right now, Jaebum is dozing off, his head knocking onto the glass window of the bus. 

Mark, being the silent, caring hyung he is, reaches out to Jaebum, who is sitting in front of him, to move his head from the window, but Jinyoung beat him to it.

"Aish. Our leader ah..."

Jinyoung tsks and places Jaebum's head on his shoulder, shushing the other members in order to let Jaebum have a better rest. Mark doesn't notice the tightening of his hands until Jackson points it out.

When they finally reach their stop, Jinyoung shakes his shoulder, jolting Jaebum awake. Jaebum, with his hazy eyes and askewed glasses mumbles incoherently and gets off the bus. Mark bites his lips to keep them from turning up into a big smile, it's not every day his leader is like this.

"Let's go!~~"

Jackson hollers and drags Jaebum and Mark off the find a bicycle-renting store. Mark lets out a smile, this time not bothering to keep it in as he sees Jaebum's eyes crinkling in happiness despite his fatigue.

Jaebum's eye smiles are precious, Mark thinks.

--

Mark notices the wave of discomfort on Jaebum's face, before it vanishes, a small, fake smile in its place. A sheen of sweat lines Jaebum's forehead, as Mark sees him trying to refrain from coughing.

"Here."

Mark hands him a water bottle, and though Jaebum seems surprised, he doesn't say anything, accepting the bottle with another one of his wide smile.

"Yo, tired already Grandpa?"

Jinyoung teases as his bike comes to a stop beside Jaebum's, earning himself a smack in the head with the water bottle. Jinyoung then takes off again, but not without a light punch to Jaebum, who immediately sets off to chase the younger as he hands the bottle back to Mark with a hurried 'thanks' and grin.

Mark sort of wants to kick Jinyoung but dismisses the thought as he realises he has no reason for wanting that. He wonders why he even has the thought in the first place. But as he looks at the sight of Jaebum chasing Jinyoung on the bicycle, he realises, he wants Jaebum to stay with him.

Jaebum doesn't stay till the end though, leaving for the dorm first before dinner with the excuse of 'not feeling well'. Even if it is the truth, Mark can't help but feel disappointed. He wants nothing more than to return to the dorm and accompany Jaebum, but being the main character for the day's event, he has to stay. But as the remaining six of them sit around the table at the shop, Mark feels empty without the presence of his leader.

Dinner passes in a blur for Mark, as the other members joke around, Mark himself letting out soft laughs and teases, though his mind is more focused on whether Jaebum is resting now.

Mark is undeniably worried about Jaebum, though he won't admit it.

--

The members return back to the dorm, satisfied yet drained, all hitting their beds as soon as they stepped into their room except for one. Mark pokes his head into Youngjae and Jaebum's shared room, finding a snuggled up Jaebum sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling evenly under the blanket, with a knocked out Yongjae beside. Looking at the peaceful sight, Mark smiles softly and leaves, closing the door softly.

Mark doesn't even realise he's awake until he hears sniffles and coughs outside his room, a little gleam of light shining through the gap under the door. He isn't even out of the room but he knows, he knows who is out there in the middle of the night, again. Jaebum is outside again, this Mark knows for sure. Sighing, he gets out from the comfort of his bed and shuffles towards the living room.

"You-"

Mark starts to speak, but pauses as he sees Jaebum sitting on the couch, apparently sleeping. Judging from the messy area around him, Jaebum must have fell asleep unconsciously. Mark just sighs again and shakes his head, moving to clear up the mess.

As Mark kneels down to tidy up the table, he sees the composing book he had given Jaebum for his birthday. But just as he reaches to flip the book open, Jaebum shifts.

"Hrngh... Mark-ah..."

Mark jumps a little at the sudden movement and feels a grip on his arm. 

"Jaebum...?"

Mark asks hesitantly, but Jaebum continues snoozing, though his grip on Mark's arm is as tight as ever. Mark ponders for a while, before gently pushing Jaebum down on the couch, shifting him to a more comfortable position, then sitting himself on the floor facing Jaebum, placing his head on the couch. He thinks he should at least enjoy this moment. Mark doesn't see the smile that appears on Jaebum's face after he has closed his eyes. 

Mark has just assumed that Jaebum's asleep.

--

Feeling soft covers on him as he awakes, Mark wonders if the night was just a dream. Maybe it was all in his head. Maybe it was just his wishful thinking that Jaebum would care enough to think of him even in his sleep. Maybe it was all fake. Maybe-

"Yo Mark-hyung. You're awake? What were you doing at the living room last night? Jaebum-hyung carried you in."

Jackson's voice breaks Mark's thoughts as he poked his head into his room. Mark's eyes widen, so it wasn't a dream afterall.

"I guess I just dozed off..."

"Hmm, well whatever. Come on, Jaebum-hyung made breakfast again!"

Jackson shrugs and hops out of the room excitedly, leaving a still dazed Mark on the bed. After a while of sitting and day dreaming, Mark finally scrambles off his bed to wash up, heading straight for the kitchen right after.

"Ah hyung! Happy birthday!"

The members roared as Mark enters the kitchen. He grins happily, thanking the members, but he can't help but notice the lack of another voice, Jaebum's to be specific. Mark turns to Jaebum, about to act like a spoiled hyung asking where's his 'happy birthday' wish when Jaebum places a plate in front of him, a light smile on his face.

"Good morning Mark-hyung."

Jaebum looks into his eyes and Mark almost forgets how to breathe.

--

It's almost midnight, and Mark still has not heard a birthday wish from Jaebum yet. Mark frowns, is it that hard to say a 'happy birthday'? He sighs for the upteenth time that day and sits up on his bed. Mark pushes away the covers and head out of his room, deciding that some clear night air may help clear his mind.

He makes it to the balcony, past the empty living room, breathing a sigh as he sees that there's no Jaebum to be found on the couch.

"And I thought you won't come out."

Mark turns around abruptly and sees Jaebum in front of him, cellphone in hand, smiling that smile which increases his heart rate.

"It may be a little late, but happy birthday Mark-hyung."

Jaebum's eyes sparkle as soft music starts to play from his cellphone. And he begins to sing. Mark just stares at Jaebum, his mouth slightly agape as he watches Jaebum, drowning in his unique voice, appreciating the way the moonlight is shining on his features.

"Thank you..."

Mark breathes out, a small smile gracing his lips as Jaebum finishes his last line of the song he composed. 

He expects Jaebum to smile back, or to lead him back to the living room. But what Mark doesn't expect is for Jaebum to hug him. Mark can feel his cheeks reddening, not from the cold of the night air, but from the warmth Jaebum is emitting.

"I love you hyung."

Jaebum whispers in his ears, sending shivers down his back.

Mark realises he loves Jaebum too.

And here it it~

Please do comment! :D tell me how i did~

Thank you all for reading this and I hope you've enjoyed it :)

EDIT: 

I edited a little after watching I GOT7 ep 5 where it showed their dorm.

Though it still isn't accurate, I tried to make their dorm in the story to be as close to their actual one as possible. :) 

2014.06.25