"...ark. Mark. Mark! Hey!"

Mark snaps his head towards the direction of the voice calling his name, flashing a smile at his friend JaeBum. "What's up?"

"Aren't you leading one of the freshman dorm tours this year? It's time for us to head over to the student center."

"Oh, right." Mark gets up from where he's sitting on the grass, brushing his pants off and walking towards the younger man. "Are you rooming with a freshman this year?"

"Me? Yeah. JinYoung managed to bribe HyunWoo into rooming together this semester, so I was left without a roommate. I figured since this is my first semester as a teaching assistant it would be beneficial for me to live with a freshman," JaeBum stops talking briefly to pull Mark out of the way of a golf cart. "Are you still going to room with Jackson this semester?"

Mark looks up at the cloudy September sky and sighs. "Yeah, I have to. I mean, I want to, you know, but--"

"No one else can do it," JaeBum finishes, smiling at Mark sadly. "I understand. Just, don't forget to take care of yourself too." JaeBum lays a hand on Mark's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Mark wants to smile as thanks, but he can't. He can't, not when the breath has just been forced out of his lungs from shock. They had just arrived at the student center and Mark was glancing around at the new faces, when his gaze landed on one in particular. That chunky haircut, that milky skin tone, that innocent grin--it's YoungJae.

"Oh! Mark!" 

Mark is thankful that it is JinYoung running towards him instead of YoungJae--or rather, he should be thankful, but his chest aches a bit.

"Mark, babe, aren't you excited? Look at all of these freshman! How many do you think are going to be history majors?" JinYoung is buzzing with excitement, and it brings a smile to Mark's face. 

"I'm pretty sure none of them are history majors, JinYoung." Mark laughs at the pout on JinYoung's face. "They'll probably change once they see you though. I mean, it's happened before." JinYoung is notorious for using his good looks and fun personality to persuade people into changing their majors, and it usually doesn't end up backfiring on him. JinYoung is just one those guys that has all the luck.

"Hey, JinYoung! This is your group!" JaeBum calls JinYoung, gesturing at the group of freshmen that YoungJae is currently standing in. Oh.

"Wonderful~! I'll see you later, babe." JinYoung presses a quick kiss to Mark's lips before heading over to his group, waving at the freshmen. Mark watches YoungJae though, only to realize that the weird look on his face is because he saw that kiss. Mark doesn't know why but he can feel his stomach twist into knots. Mark doesn't look away from YoungJae, not even when YoungJae raises an eyebrow as a silent question of whether or not Mark had come up with an answer to what YoungJae had asked him last spring. 

--

"Ah~ That was a lot of fun!" JinYoung flops down onto his bed, stretching out across the mattress. "Hey, Mark, you know, there was this one freshman who was really sweet. You would've liked having him in your group. He laughed at all of my jokes and even helped me distribute the new resident packets." Mark sits next to JinYoung, smiling a bit when JinYoung shifts his position so that he can lay his head in Mark's lap.

"Really? What was his name?" Mark's fingers lay awkwardly on JinYoung's head. He never really knew how to cuddle, honestly, but JinYoung liked it a lot so he did his best to reciprocate.

JinYoung starts tracing meaningless patterns on Mark's thigh, his warm breath fanning across Mark's khaki shorts. "Mmmm, Choi something." Mark tenses, his hands clenching into fists. Please don't let it be who I think it is, Mark wishes silently. He's not really sure why he doesn't want JinYoung and YoungJae to meet and get along. He supposes life would be easier if they do, but something seems a bit off, almost as if JinYoung becoming fond of YoungJae would explode in Mark's face. "Choi....I think it started with a 'Y'? You know I'm bad with names." Mark nods, but his mind is spinning. Maybe I'm making this into a bigger deal than it really is. Why should he care, really? Mark has to admit that he finds it strange that YoungJae would be so exceptionally cordial with JinYoung, but maybe YoungJae is really just a kindhearted person.

The door opens and the sound of books hitting the ground fills the room. "S-sorry! I can see that you kids are busy here!" JinYoung lets out a laugh and Mark looks up to see a flustered HyunWoo picking up his books from the floor.

"God HyunWoo, we weren't doing anything! Relax~" JinYoung sits up, leaning his head on Mark's shoulder. HyunWoo gives JinYoung a weird look, but Mark just shakes his head.

"It's fine HyunWoo."

"Oh, yeah! Hey, do you remember the name of the freshman I told you about? The one that's staying with JaeBum?" 

Mark freezes, waiting.

"Wasn't it Choi YoungJae?" HyunWoo answers, setting his books on his desk.

"Yeah, Choi YoungJae! What a sweet kid." JinYoung smiles, looking up at Mark. "You would really like him, Mark. I'll ask JaeBum to introduce you two."

Mark laughs nervously. Yeah, I'm sure we'd get along well. 

--

Mark feels the hazy wispiness of the dream at his fingertips, but once again the whole situation seems so real. He looks down at his palms, noticing the dirt covering them. He feels a sharp pain in his head and reaches up, his hand coming in contact with something warm and sticky. He pulls his hand back down and stares at the red across his fingers. Blood?

"Go back to the Communists!" A voice shouts at him, and when Mark looks up he sees some kids around the age of thirteen or fourteen--around his age--with hands filled with rocks. They're yelling at him, their voices filled with anger and disgust, and their eyes filled with the twisted sense of excitement that comes with bullying. The tallest boy hurls a rock at Mark, hitting him in the forehead. It's just a dream, but the pain feels too real, almost like this has actually happened to him before. The kids are throwing insults and slurs at Mark as well, and Mark is suddenly aware that he'd rather be hit with rocks than with words. A girl raises her hand to throw a rock at Mark, and Mark closes his eyes, hoping that somehow the rock will have enough force to put him out of his misery. When nothing happens, Mark opens his eyes, staring incredulously at the young boy standing in front of him.

There is blood dripping from the boy's upper lip where the rock had hit him, and there is an incredible anger in the boy's eyes. He can't be older than eleven, and yet here he is, saving Mark.

"Leave him alone!" The boy shouts, and Mark feels all sorts of emotions swell in his chest. The boy bends down to pick up the rocks that had hit himself and Mark, and then holds them in his arms. He picks one and holds it up, as if aiming to throw it at the group of kids. "Leave him alone," the boy repeats, holding the rock menacingly in his hand. The kids get the message and must be threatened enough, as they grumble and leave reluctantly. The boy drops the rocks, letting out a loud sigh.

"Thank you," Mark whispers quietly. The boy turns around, grinning from ear to ear. Mark finds himself at a loss for words; maybe it's just the gratefulness he feels towards the younger boy for saving him from the torture, but Mark is sure he's never seen a person more wonderful in his life. The younger boy's eyes sparkle with liveliness, and his smile is bright enough to light up the dark. He seems familiar, Mark thinks, but he can't quite place his finger on it.

"No problem!" The boy laughs, a melodious sound, and Mark finds himself grinning as well. "What's your name?"

"Mark Tuan."

"Hm, so you are Chinese." The boy sits down, taking the hem of his shirt into his grubby hands and using it to dab at Mark's cuts.

"Is that a problem?"

"Not to me! But some stupid people think you're a bad person. Because of the war right now, Chinese people aren't very welcome here."

Oh.

"I'm sorry..." Mark trails off. He's sorry for a lot of things. He's sorry for whatever it is China is doing right now, he's sorry for being a burden, he's sorry for making the boy get hurt instead.

"Don't be stupid! I know you're not a bad person, so that's why I helped you. My pops says that I should always help the good people, that way they'll continue to spread their goodness to other people." The boy grins again, wiping his sleeve across his lip. He stands up and brushes himself off before sticking his hand out to help Mark up.

"What's your name?" Mark asks. He takes the younger boy's hand, and the younger boy squeezes Mark's hand.

"My name is YoungJae." Mark's eyes grow wide. "We should be friends, Mark! I think we would make good friends."

Mark laughs, nodding. Yeah, I'm sure we'll get along well.