Mark returns to his hotel room on point at exactly 12:00pm. His mother and sisters are on his bed, already changed and ready to go out for a family lunch; however, Mark thinks he hears Joey and his father bickering in the bathroom about who needed the shower more. He doesn’t understand why they’re fighting over the issue though, because the family had rented two hotel rooms, which meant two bathrooms.

            “Like father, like son,” he hears his mother comment as he enters as silently as possible through the door. Grace notices his presence immediately though and is quick to make a remark.

            “Where have you been all morning, Mark?”

            Mark thinks hard in order to produce a smart answer, “I’ve been exploring the wonders of Seoul, sis.”

            He hears Grace scoff and chuckles because he knows that isn’t a typical answer from Mark Tuan.

            “Joey says he’s been prancing around with a Korean boy,” Tammy adds, taking Mark by surprise. She sticks her tongue out before asking, “Is he cute, Mark? Can you set me up?”

            “No!” the brunette replies much more quickly than he should have. He realizes at that moment that possessiveness can develop fast.  “No, I can’t.”

            Tammy suspiciously raises an eyebrow.  “Ooookaaay then… Calm down, Mark, you know I was kidding…”

            “Kidding?” Mark gasps in surprise before attempting to mask his stupidity with a laugh. His sisters can see through it though. “Oh… Kidding… Yeah. I knew.”

            The poor boy is saved from further embarrassment by the sound of the bathroom door opening, as well as Joey’s heavy footsteps.

            “Dad won’t let me shower!”

            “You can shower in the other room,” Mrs. Tuan replies, eying her younger son as he grabs a towel and trudges toward the door. “Dad is oldest, so he gets the closer bathroom. Since you’re youngest, you have to walk over next door.”

            After a good ten minutes consisting of the sound of running water and dropped items from the bathroom counter (Mark assumes it’s Joey making this sound, not his dad), the family decide to take a local subway to the Myeongdong shopping district. Mark doesn’t realize this until they exit and the images of familiar buildings start tickling his mind, making him think that he’s seen them before. His father unfolds a map, but Mark and siblings don’t bother asking where he had got it. As they’re walking and following Mr. Tuan’s directions, Mark finally realizes that the colors and signs he has been witnessing are the same as those in the photos of Jinyoung’s laptop.

            “We’re in Myeongdong!” Mark exclaims, resulting in weird stares from his siblings.

            “Didn’t you hear Mom in the subway?” Grace asks, tilting her head at him in suspicion.

            “Mark, you’ve been acting weird since we got here,” Joey remarks.

            “It’s the boy, isn’t it?” Tammy teases, but Mark immediately avoids their statements, choosing instead to focus on the sidewalk ahead. He prays his skin tone isn’t reddening.

            After a short-distance stroll, Mr. Tuan leads the family into a restaurant that appears to specialize in pork cutlets. Mark’s excited; although he hadn’t done much research on the attractions of Seoul, he had looked up the food, and samgyeopsal was definitely on his list. Mark’s not too worried about the attractions though, because he knows Jinyoung had updated him well with his photos.

            “Are we going to Lotte World?” the brunette suddenly questions out of the blue as soon as they sit down. Mr. Tuan almost laughs at the sudden inquiry.

            “Yes, we will, son… but right now, we’re eating pork cutlets.”

            “Sampgyeopsal,” Mark corrects him, surprising himself because why did he even do that? Mr. Tuan isn’t offended though; he seems more satisfied with the fact that Mark had prepared himself for two weeks in Seoul.

            The family spends three hours at the shopping district after their lunch. By the third hour, the women are clinging on to bunches of bags from beauty stores, gift shops, and clothing stores. Mark isn’t very surprised that he’s only holding a single bag consisting of a new flannel he had purchased for himself, as well as a gift box. The shopping district had entertained him, he admits, but even so, shopping was never his hobby. Jinyoung made it look fun as hell though. Mark’s even less surprised by the fact that Joey is trudging behind him, holding the bags that his sisters couldn’t carry. The boy is groaning because he’s bored and beside him is their father, who seems only a bit more amused. Mark understands; everyone was excited to shop when they exited the restaurant, but after being dragged on for hours by their mother, Grace, and Tammy, their footsteps just gradually became heavier.

            The females tire themselves out soon enough though and Mr. Tuan is more than happy to lead everyone back to the subway to go home. They rest for a bit and order dinner from the hotel. Mark can’t wait to go to eat, brush his teeth, and go sleep.

            He wakes up at a decent time the next morning and the first thing he does is attempt to write a letter for Jinyoung. Mark takes the time to search for a different online translator though; he doesn’t want to confuse the black-haired boy again. Plus, he also makes the effort to write the letter in Hangul by hand this time, since Jinyoung had done the same for him. He has a hard time though, because the characters are unfamiliar. It takes an hour or so to get everything he wants to say down on the notepad, but when he’s done, Mark tears it out and folds it before sticking it into his jeans pocket. He hurries to closet to find the jacket he had worn yesterday, and retrieves the address Jinyoung had given him. His entire family is awake by then, so Mark informs them that he won’t be joining anyone for lunch. Grace and Tammy share that they want to explore the streets of Seoul, and Mrs. Tuan is quick to join them because she is overprotective of her daughters especially. Joey seems content with following his dad around for the day. No one really questions where Mark is going anymore; he assumes it’s because Joey had told everyone that his brother had made a friend.

            Jinyoung was specific with the instructions he had written on the paper. On the sheet are the exact subway numbers and streets he should take to arrive at the location. Jinyoung had even gone through the trouble of incorporating a small doodle of how the trees, rocks, and grass should like when Mark gets there. The brunette thinks it’s cute that Jinyoung even incorporates a small drawing of himself in the picture with the outfit that he was probably going to wear. Mark assumes he’ll probably be sitting in the exact spot on the picture too.

            Mark almost looks like an idiot strolling steadily on the sidewalk beside the grass bordering the Han River. He’s glancing up and down from the river to his drawing, comparing the doodle to his environment. The brunette doesn’t care that he’s getting weird looks from passer-bys, as he struggles just a bit to find Jinyoung. However, he finally notices a familiar figure sitting, dressed with a red t-shirt that is identical to the one in his doodle. Jinyoung has not noticed him yet, so Mark decides to surprise the other. He puts the paper back in his pocket before slowly and quietly approaching the oblivious boy.

            When he’s finally just centimeters away from Jinyoung, Mark crouches down, places his hands on both of the boy’s shoulders, leans in closer, and whispers, “Annyeonghaseyo, Jinyoungie.”

            Jinyoung jumps a bit in surprise, but immediately realizes that it’s only his friend. He turns around and sneakily says, “안녕하세요, Markeu! 어떻게 지내세요?”

            The elder is baffled by his question. “What?”

            Jinyoung literally falls back in laughter, but he almost wishes he hadn’t (actually he’s also kind of happy he did), because he lands immediately on Mark’s chest. The black-haired boy thinks he can hear a heartbeat. He keeps laughing though as Mark gently helps him back up before taking a seat beside him.

            “Hi, Markeu. How are you?” Jinyoung translates and Mark’s mouth makes an “o” shape.

            “I’m hungry,” Mark replies. Jinyoung understands, opening the boxes of food he promised he’d bring. They’re bento boxes, Mark realizes, filled with what was it called again? Kimbap? That, along with kimchi and pickled radish. The younger hands him a box, which Mark gladly takes. He also gives him bottled water and a box of Pepero he had probably bought along the way. Mark notes that Jinyoung is eating the same thing.

            “Did you make this?” he asks as he pulls apart the wooden chopsticks and picks a slice of the rice roll up. Mark doesn’t receive a reply though, so he looks up at Jinyoung, laughing as soon as he sees the other’s mouth stuffed with a slice of kimbap. Jinyoung chews and stares at him apologetically.

“It’s okay,” Mark chuckles, placing a slice in his mouth as well. They would have to take turns talking and listening, he decides.

“No, I can not cook in hotel,” Jinyoung replies after thinking about how to word it for a while. Mark’s facial expression says “oh yeah” but his mouth says nothing because it’s filled with food.

            They decide then to finish the rice rolls in silence, but neither minds. It’s a peaceful and enjoyable silence; Mark enjoys the presence of the other beside him and deems that words aren’t necessary for now. Jinyoung is the first to finish though. He gulps down some bottled water before turning to Mark. The younger male notices that Mark still has three slices to go, so he decides to pick up his camera bag and take some photos of the scenery. Mark nods in acknowledgement when Jinyoung points at his camera while jogging away from him. He observes the boy as he snaps photos of the bridge a little further down, before running right back to him and simply focusing his camera on a nearby bird. There’s so much passion in his hobby, Mark notes as he watches Jinyoung take yet another photo, this time focusing on perspective as he points the camera straight down the river so that the trees look like they’re getting smaller and smaller. The black-haired male snaps several more shots before returning to Mark.

            “Can I see them?” Mark asks, and Jinyoung nods giving him the camera. The brunette is fascinated by the clarity Jinyoung has achieved in his photos. He’s still viewing them when the younger takes it back. Mark is stunned, but quickly grasps the situation when Jinyoung flips the camera so that the lens is pointing at them.

            “I want one with you,” Mark feels like this line is rehearsed when Jinyoung says it, because it flows off the boy’s tongue like liquid gold.

            “O-Okay.”

            Jinyoung is apparently really good at taking selca shots, Mark learns, because the image comes out perfectly on the first try—incredible focus, centering, brightness, etc.

            “Do you want to go anywhere?” Mark asks after finishing what’s left of his kimchi and pickled radish.

            “I want to sit,” Jinyoung shares, bringing up his camera. “Sun… gone?”

            Mark thinks he means that he wants to stay to take a picture of the Han River during sunset. “That’s a great idea,” he says, but is pretty sure the other doesn’t understand him.

            “Beautiful,” Mark simplifies as he watches the familiar crinkle of Jinyoung’s eyes as a bright smile spreads across his face. Mark is starting to think that there are things more beautiful than the Han River at sunset.

            The elder takes a sip from his water bottle before opening his box of Pepero. He has no clue about the games that Koreans play with this snack, and has no idea that the biscuit sticks in his hand practically symbolize love. Jinyoung knows though, but for now, he prefers eating from his own box. The silence returns for several minutes as the pair admire the simplistic, yet breathtaking, view of the wonder in front of them. The air is filled with children’s laughter, soft bird chirps, and occasional calls of vendors offering balloons and ice cream.

            Mark chooses to be the first one to speak up after a while. He retrieves the letter from his pocket, sighing in relief since the item accompanying the sheet of paper is still lying in there as well. He hands it to Jinyoung, whose eyes widen when he realizes that Mark had handwritten the letter in Korean. Jinyoung doesn’t have a letter to give Mark today, but the brunette doesn’t complain because the other had brought them food, which was more than enough. He silently admires the younger as he reads the letter, furrowing his eyebrows every once in a while as he tries to make out the words. Mark has talked about the fun he’s had with Jinyoung in that letter, along with how the weather in Southern California is like (how it’s like to not have snow and how he has to travel to Big Bear Mountain to go snowboarding). He doesn’t forget to leave out his account on his family trip to Myeongdong yesterday, as well as his description of the taste of samgyeopsal. Jinyoung laughs as he reaches that part, but tilts his head in confusion because Mark had written the last sentence in English. Jinyoung can read it; he just doesn’t understand it.

            “You’re a… happy virus?” the black-haired male reads it like a question when it’s not.

            “Yeah,” Mark answers with a smile. He misses the intake of breath that Jinyoung experiences upon seeing the smile though. “A happy virus is a happy person that makes other people happy. You make me happy.”

            Even if they’re just friends right now, Mark doesn’t think his explanation is too much. Jinyoung doesn’t even seem bothered by it after all. The younger processes the words steadily, nodding with a contagious eye smile when he understands.

            “Let’s throw away our trash,” Mark suggests, forgetting that Jinyoung might not comprehend as he reaches for the plastic bags and now-empty pepero boxes. The younger is quick to grasp the situation and join him, stopping Mark when he tries to discard the bento boxes as well.

            “Bring to LA,” Jinyoung says. He leads Mark to a nearby café, where he politely asks an employee to wash the boxes for them. Korean people are friendly, Mark thinks once he realizes the favor Jinyoung had just asked for. The waitress returns a minute later with a smile as she hands Jinyoung back the boxes. The black-haired male also politely makes a purchase of what seems like a small slice of tiramisu. Mark notices that he’s paid more than enough though as he refuses to collect his change, since the waitress had gone through the trouble of washing the bento boxes for them.

            Jinyoung gives the neatly boxed tiramisu to Mark as they walk out of the café. What had begun as trip to a trashcan then turns into a stroll around the small shopping area. They don’t buy anything though; Mark and Jinyoung just realize that walking around is more entertaining than waiting for the sun to set. After an hour, the younger glances at his watch before pulling Mark back to their spot on the river.

            They sit for a while until the first stripes of warm pink start decorating the sky. The brunette watches as Jinyoung changes the lens on his camera, probably to grab the best-quality image. He observes the other as he takes a couple of warm-up shots to test his camera before deleting them. Mark doesn’t know what’s so amazing but he’s captivated.

            Jinyoung is quick to act when the sky becomes a mellow orange as the sun finally starts to dip. Mark follows him as he strides from place to place, searching for the perfect snapshots of the Han River sunset. It’s fun, Mark thinks, as he continues chasing after Jinyoung for an entertaining half-hour.

            The younger male literally plops himself down on the grass in exhaustion when the majority of the sun is gone. He almost gasps when Mark lies himself down beside him, but chooses to say nothing about it. Mark thinks he can feel Jinyoung’s warmth and hear his own heartbeat at that moment. The moment’s short though, when the brunette quickly jolts upward at the thought of the item in his pocket he had practically forgotten about.

            “Jinyoungie! I have a gift for you,” Mark exclaims in remembrance, retrieving the item from his pocket. The paper with the location slides out with it due to his haste, but Mark is quick to shove it back in. He eagerly hands Jinyoung the black box. The younger’s eyes widen in surprise as he accepts the present, opening it with what seems like shaking hands.

            “It’s a keychain,” Mark explains as Jinyoung takes out the item, a mesmerizing sparkle forming in his pupils. The object is a metallic number 7 attached to a keychain. “Number 7 is luck… Lucky. I want you to be safe, healthy, and lucky.”

            Mark doesn’t expect to witness the moisture in Jinyoung’s eyes, but the boy is so touched. He locks the keyring onto the zipper of his camera bag and smiles through tears that won’t fall. If Mark had thought his simple eye smile was beautiful, the loving one Jinyoung had on now was so much more. The younger practically throws himself onto Mark in a gentle, yet grateful, embrace and Mark can feel his insides flip over as his heart leaps in happiness.

            “Thank you,” Jinyoung whispers, tightening his arms around the elder.

            Jinyoung pulls away from him, but refuses to let go. Their faces are literally a couple of inches apart as he grins thankfully in front of the brunette. Mark feels like he’s going to faint if Jinyoung gets any closer, but that’s exactly what the younger does.

            “J-Jinyoung?” Mark stutters, but is interrupted by the sensation of the other’s soft lips against his own. His eyes bulge in shock, but Jinyoung doesn’t back away from him. People are staring, but Mark doesn’t want to push the boy away. His heart is racing now, but he wants to keep going, so Mark shuts the world around him off as he molds his lips together with Jinyoung’s.

            The black-haired male is the first to pull away, refusing eye contact as he shyly scoots back over to his spot before. He’s breathless, Mark notes as he hears the boy’s soft pants—or maybe they are his own…..

            “I have to go back for dinner,” Mark whispers after a minute of an indescribable silence. Mark doesn’t know if it’s as enjoyable this time because of what has just happened. But he’s sure that neither of them disliked it. At least their mutual feelings are confirmed now. They take the subway back to their hotels together, hand-in-hand in their seats. Mark doesn’t know when their fingers had intertwined, but it had happened and he didn’t mind at all. It’s quiet as they process their day, but their thoughts are interrupted when Jinyoung gets off because they reach the area of his hotel before Mark’s.

            “Bye, Markeu,” the younger male shyly says as he stands up, his fingers lightly brushing away from Mark’s. The brunette has to resist the urge to hold onto him.

            During the few blocks before his exit, Mark remembers that tomorrow is Jinyoung’s last day in Seoul. He’s disappointed.

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Author's Note: Surprise!!! Did y'all expect an update this soon? :) I hope you're all enjoying this story! But now I have a question~ the last part of the story is coming up next and I have two choices: keep it as one part or split it in two. As one chapter, the ending will be long, but as two chapters, each chapter will be of a decent length. I can already tell that I'll take a longer while to post the ending as one chapter, but as two, they might arrive within shorter intervals. Would you guys rather wait for one long one that might take a week, or two regular-ish chapters that will take around 1-3 days each? Should Barriers contain 4 parts or 5? Sorry I'm so indecisive on the length of this fic >< But thanks a bunch for everyone's support! ♥