Jinyoung’s disappearance takes a toll on Mark’s emotions. The brunette thinks it’s ridiculous that a friendship that’s barely lasted a week can be so painful. But then he scratches the word “friendship” and remembers that he’s kissed the Korean native—they are more than friends. Mark’s head starts hurting every time he ponders about the possibility of a long-distance relationship. Do those things even work?

            It’s been three days since Jinyoung’s departure to Jinhae. Mark’s feeling a bit better now; his siblings have contributed a lot to his happier state. Grace and Tammy had spent the past few days convincing their parents that they needed more trips to different tourist attractions, just so Mark could easily get his mind off of things. It’s not that surprising that Mr. Tuan is so willing to just so.

            It’s now officially the beginning of their second week in South Korea, and honestly, Mark is excited to hear what his father has planned out for the next week. Although he’s been to several locations with Jinyoung, he knows there’s so much more to the wonders of Seoul, and he’s more than willing to explore. That’s why he’s the first to take a seat next to his father on the bed when Mr. Tuan opens his laptop to show his family the choices he’s come up with.

            But when Mark finally absorbs his father’s information, his heart sinks a bit. Lotte World? The War Memorial of Korea? Bukhansan National Park? Heck, even Seoul Forest? The brunette resists the urge to bang his head against the nearest wall. Mr. Tuan has picked out every single location from the photo albums Jinyoung has shown him.

            “Hell yeah! Lotte World first, Dad!” Joey hollers.

            And that’s exactly how Mark ends up with colorful character ears on his head as he’s dragged onto ride after ride at the theme park. He tries his best to mask his prolonging disappointment, wearing a smile as often as he can as his sisters buy him churros and Joey hands him a barf bag, just in case. They’re having such a great time after all, and Mark doesn’t want his emotions to interfere with their fun. Jinyoung’s just a boy after all, right? Like Joey said before, they can’t even communicate properly! So why was Mark getting so worked out over his absence?

           He feels his stomach turning throughout the whole day at the park, and knows it’s definitely not from motion sickness. There are a few moments where Mark just temporarily forgets about Jinyoung and enjoys whatever he’s doing, but the thought of the Korean inevitably comes to his mind at the end of the day. Mark thinks it’s horrible, but he doesn’t expect the following days to be worse.

            He appreciates the magnificent statues and displays at the Memorial of Korea the next day, admiring the exact items he’s seen in Jinyoung’s photos. Mark concludes that that’s the least he can do after all. Being a bum for the rest of the vacation definitely isn’t a good idea. Neither his family nor Jinyoung would like it.

Bukhansan National Park fascinates Mark, too. The breeze is refreshing as he and the rest of the family hike up the hills to be met with breathtaking views of the mighty mountains. Mark doesn’t forget his camera for this trip; he snaps as many photos as he can, but is totally oblivious toward the fact that he’s basically cloning all of the photos he’s witnessed from Jinyoung’s album.

            Mark thinks their visit to the Seoul Forest is the most entertaining, yet the most painful. He finds it amusing that Joey has purchased an ice cream cone and done exactly what he did days before. This time, Mark is the one scolding at him for feeding the ducks, but Joey, being the rebellious teenager that he is, won’t listen. In the end, the park authorities have to warn him not to toss food in the water again. The walk gets a little tenser for Mark when they stroll by the bench on which he and Jinyoung had sat just the previous week. Memories return to Mark, and he tries his best to hold in whatever emotions try to make their ways up his throat.

            Mark’s almost glad to be back home in Arcadia, California several days after that. The second week in Seoul had been close to unbearable for the brunette, due to the fact that his family was unconsciously shoving the thought of Jinyoung into his mind. Although he misses the boy, Mark misses his bed, too, which is why he throws himself onto it the moment he reunites with his room. The feeling of America is just so warm to him as he meets up with his friends again and eats familiar Western cuisine. He misses the movie theaters, the shopping malls, the restaurants… Mark is excited to bring his skateboard outside again and skate down the streets of his neighborhood. The memories of Jinyoung begin to fade, due to the time he spends with his cherished ones back home, and Mark begins to assume that Jinyoung might be feeling the same thing back at his hometown. He lets the thought of the relationship go, because really… What are the chances?

            It’s not until the Sunday morning a week after he’s returned home from Korea that Mark finally decides to fully unpack his suitcase (which has been lying at the corner of his room for nearly eight days now) and do some laundry. He places his accessories back in his drawer before throwing the dirty shirts, jackets, and pants into a hamper and heading toward the washing machine downstairs. Mark takes his time sorting the colors, isolating white from all other colored clothing. He throws his shirts in first before checking the pockets of his jackets and tossing them in also. He’s developed this habit of checking his pockets after not doing it as a child and losing a twenty dollar bill in the laundry machine. Once his shirts and jackets are drying, Mark reaches for the pants in the hamper to do the same thing.

            This process goes well until Mark actually finds something in one of his pockets. Expecting money or a gum wrapper, Mark is definitely surprised when he pulls out a sheet of paper with information written on it. The writing is familiar, and the brunette’s eyes bulge when he finds a set of numbers, a street name, more digits, and the name of a city. A spark of hope lights up in his heart when he reads the city name to be Jinhae, Changwon. Mark knows he’s heard of this city before, and he can definitely recall the voice that’s said it. Confirming his hopes is the name of none other than Park Jinyoung accompanying the home address. Guilt rushes through his veins as he realizes how ignorant he’s been for the past week; Jinyoung had given him so many more opportunities with this simple address, but he’s been too lazy to figure that out. The poor boy’s probably been expecting a letter since so long ago! Mark hurriedly finishes the rest of his laundry before quickly returning to his room and visiting a credible online translator.

            That afternoon, he skates to the nearest gift shop a couple of blocks away from his home, purchases a comfy and cute character pillow that looks like a piece of fried tofu, and mails it, along with a letter, away to Jinhae, Changwon at the post office.

            Mark doesn’t receive a reply in the mail until three weeks later. Jinyoung almost seems a bit upset that he had taken so long to send something, but Mark remembers to mention in his next letter that he’s a lazy person and didn’t get to find the address in his pocket until a while after his return to California. Accompanying Jinyoung’s letter is the printed form of the photo that they had taken at Han River. He tells Mark in the letter that he also expects Mark’s photos in his mailbox soon before thanking the elder for the tofu pillow. Mark does just that and sends Jinyoung the photos as soon as they’re printed, along with a beanie he purchases from H&M. Again, his reply comes approximately three weeks later; this time, Jinyoung seems to have bought him something, too—a t-shirt, it seems. Mark is so thrilled about the gift that he wears it to the movie theater with his friends the next day.

            The gifts keep coming, and although the couple doesn’t know it, they’re getting more and more expensive. Mark finds himself purchasing a pair of Jordans for Jinyoung, but doesn’t realize he’s nearly broke until the next time he goes out to buy the boy a tablet. This is when Mark concludes that they might be overdoing it a bit, so he writes to Jinyoung explaining his thoughts, which the younger agrees to. He also adds that he’d like a faster way of communication, but the Korean says something along the lines of not being active on social media, due to the fact that he’s starting school soon (this is what Mark determines from the confusing English that Jinyoung’s translations have created).

            The letters after that become more meaningful; Mark assumes this is because Jinyoung wants to make sure the elder understands his feelings before he begins unconsciously neglecting their conversations due to school. But then the letters become slower and slower until Mark is stuck waiting for a reply from Jinyoung. He convinces himself that Jinyoung must be much busier now due to his studies, and decides to distract himself by getting a job at the Abercrombie store in the shopping mall in his city. Thoughts of Jinyoung don’t leave his mind this time though, as he imagines the Korean in every single article of men’s clothing that he folds and hangs. He tries to avoid doing so with the undergarments though, because seriously? Get your act together, Mark Tuan.

            Mark becomes really desperate when a month passes with no response. If he thought a language barrier was hard, the geographical barriers were so much more difficult to endure. He decides to send a letter, assuming that the previous one might have gotten lost on the way to Korea. But three weeks later and there still is no reply. The lack of conversation with Jinyoung begins to concern the brunette; he becomes worried and sends one more letter asking if Jinyoung is okay and healthy. No response. Even two months later when Mark is fired from his job at Abercrombie due to his lack of focus, he receives no response. Mark gets frustrated that his reignited hope has faded so badly, and his family notices the irritation within his expressions at the dinner table. He’s confronted by his siblings, but Mark doesn’t say much; they know enough after all—he’s gotten back in touch with Jinyoung, but has lost connection with him again. If the first time was bad, Mark thinks the second time is utterly heartbreaking.

            He decides to find another job, this time at Starbucks, and works hard to earn enough money to fund a trip to Korea, just to check on Jinyoung. He’s sure the other isn’t purposefully ignoring him because the last letters had ended on a loving note. Jinyoung had spoken about his desire to meet up with Mark again, under better conditions where he wouldn’t have to leave the elder. And Mark wants to make this wish come true, so he tries his best to stay overtime making lattes and frappes. He becomes really good at creating Starbucks’ signature beverages and refuses to lose focus on the job. It’s all for Jinyoung, he tells himself.

            It’s a Saturday afternoon in December when Mark comes home after cashing out his latest paycheck. He’s home alone as of now; his parents are at work and his siblings have gone out. Mark takes advantage of the moment and rids himself of his shirt so that he’s only donning his black tank top and basketball shorts because face it, southern California will always be hot. The brunette heads to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich for a late lunch and is meticulously spreading mayonnaise when he hears footsteps approaching his front porch. Mark’s hopes are high as he still expects to meet a UPS man at the door and hear that a package has arrived for him from Korea. He sets the unfinished sandwich on a plate and heads over to take a peek through the peep hole on his door. It’s definitely not a UPS man, Mark realizes, since the person is donning very casual clothing. Mark can’t make out his face either due to the snapback he has on, but the brunette can make out an envelope in his hands. Thinking that it’s the neighbor’s kid coming over to give him his mail that accidentally ended up in their mailbox, Mark opens the door.

           He notices the envelope has already been opened though, and that his address is in the corner of it, not in the middle. Realizing that he has been the sender of the envelope, Mark nearly gasps because those fingers holding onto the item are so gracefully familiar. It can’t be; he’s in California right now, not Korea. Mark has trouble lifting his head and meeting eyes with his guest. He then becomes extremely self-conscious over his outfit and tries his best not to run away. A cough interrupts Mark’s rush of thoughts, causing him to point his gaze toward its direction.

            And that’s when he sees him.

            Park Jinyoung, who still looks just like he had many months before, standing in his magnificent glory on Mark’s front porch. He had to be dreaming. How?

            Jinyoung removes his cap and smiles that precious smile that makes Mark’s heart flip one hundred times, confirming the fact that yeah. He’s actually here.

            “I found you, Mark,” the Korean says, and Mark’s mind goes crazy because whoa, Jinyoung has definitely worked on his English pronunciation. There’s no –eu at the end anymore, and the name flows off his tongue smoothly and fluently.

            “You… You—how? What happened?” Mark can’t properly form his sentences, but nonetheless opens the door wider and welcomes the younger into his house. He leads him over to his kitchen counter and offers Jinyoung a seat beside it, still staring at the other in disbelief.

            “I missed you,” Jinyoung explains, “a lot.”

            “But you didn’t…”

            “I know, Mark. I’m sorry,” it’s not until this moment that Mark notices the sad atmosphere in Jinyoung’s eyes. There was something different and lacking in his physique as well now that he looks closer; Jinyoung seems to have lost a bit of weight. Not only this, but Mark also notices the gray backs under his eyes. The Korean continues on with his explanation, which seems to be rehearsed. “I studied… and took my family to Seoul… but when we came home, my mother became sick. She’s much better now, but I’m sorry. I had to take care of her.”

            Mark is speechless at Jinyoung’s well-practiced English, and although the content of his explanation is so sorrowful, Mark feels his heart skip a beat at the sound of his language streaming out of the other’s lips. He knows it’s not the time to admire this though and is quick to show his concern, “I didn’t know… but I’m very happy your mother is okay. You look tired, Jinyoungie… You need to eat and sleep more.”

            “I’m sorry, Mark,” Jinyoung repeats in his worn out voice. “I’m really sorry.”

            Mark hears the black-haired male gasp when he reaches out for his hands and holds onto them reassuringly. “It’s okay,” Mark whispers before leaning forward and placing a kiss on Jinyoung’s cheek. “I’ll make you a sandwich—an American one.”

            He witnesses the boy’s mindless nod and smiles before resuming his sandwich from earlier. Mark makes a second one before bringing them both over to the counter where the Korean native is sitting. They talk over their meal, and Mark makes sure to praise Jinyoung’s improved English. The younger replies that he’s taken an English class at his university just so they could communicate better, and is currently considering taking more classes outside of school as well. Mark is touched by the boy’s efforts.

            “I want to teach you, too,” Mark shares, peeling off the crust of his bread because he can’t take the taste of it anymore. “How long are you staying?”

            “Two weeks,” Jinyoung responds, finishing the rest of his sandwich and smiling brightly at the thought of spending his time with Mark. “Winter vacation.”

            Mark learns that Jinyoung is staying at a nearby hotel by himself, and as much as he wants to offer a place for the boy, he knows his mom won’t be okay with it. He spends the rest of the afternoon teaching the Korean how to ride a skateboard, and bids farewell twenty minutes before his parents come home for dinner. He gives Jinyoung a time and address on a sheet of paper before the boy leaves, simply because it’s become a thing for them. Mark’s so happy that evening that he whips up some pasta for the entire family.

            He’s at work the next day, blending more coffee for customers and patiently waiting for a specific arrival. Mark almost finds himself laughing on the job when he sees Jinyoung walk through the door five minutes early and scan the entire place, looking for his face. He observes quietly from the corner of his eye as he does a hazelnut drizzle on a customer’s order, watching as Jinyoung takes a seat by the window and waits patiently for him. Mark’s a bit surprised that the boy hasn’t made an order at the cashier, but decides that’s okay, as he decides to make his last two drinks for the day. The barista for the next shift has already arrived after all; Mark is technically done with his job for the day. He finishes the beverages in five minutes (longer than usual because Mark just wants to make them perfect) before calling over the counter.

            “Two caramel macchiatos for Jinyoungie and Mark!”

            Mark stays with Jinyoung in his hotel room that evening.

            “Hey, we’re not official yet, are we?” he asks the Korean native, taking a seat beside him on the bed. The younger looks at him confusedly. “Official… real?”

            “Yeah,” Jinyoung replies. “Real.”

            “Really?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Then I need to tell you something,” Mark adds, watching as the other cutely tilts his head in anticipation. “I think I love you.”

            Jinyoung bursts into laughter, falling backward onto the bed, causing Mark to stare at him in wonder. He gets up as quickly as he can though, before Mark can get mad at him for his actions.

            Dropping the volume of his voice into a whisper, Jinyoung asks the elder, “Mark, do you know how to say ‘I love you’ in Korean?”

            “Tell me,” Mark replies, and his breath hitches when the younger’s face nears his own.

            “사랑해요,” Jinyoung doesn’t give Mark time to process the syllables as he immediately pushes Mark down on the bed and kisses him feverishly with the energy and love he’s accumulated over the months of not seeing him.

            Mark’s mind explodes due to the overwhelming sensation of Jinyoung’s lips on his own, and he eagerly responds to the kiss as he notes down that Jinyoung has already used this phrase on him so many times.

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Author's Note: Well! I guess that's it for Barriers! I hope the ending didn't disappoint anyone, and I'm sorry if the time span was a bit too much... I wanted to fit my ideas efficiently and this is what came out of it >< I had so much fun writing this fic! I did a lot of Googling to be honest, and learned of so many cool tourist attractions in Seoul xD And finding the right Korean terms was a unique experience, too (I'm Vietnamese-American and my knowledge of the Korean language is veeeerrryyyy low... haha...)! Since it's the last chapter, I'd really like to know how I did, so do make a last-minute subscription if you haven't... or upvote if you liked it... or comment because I absolutely love reading what you guys have to say!! ^____^ Once again, thank you for the overwhelming support I've received! I'm so touched by your feedback and I really hope to give you all more JinMark in the future! I start school in a couple of days, which means I won't be writing as frequently, but if I do have more JinMark to share, I'll let y'all know through an update in this story! xD Hope to see you all there when it happens~ Thank you and have a wonderful day~ :)