Saturday evening.

“I’m done, Mark. Are you ready?” Jinyoung called from the living room. The elder was inside their shared room; probably pampering himself too much. The brunette can smell the thick and striking scent of Mark’s expensive perfume and honestly, it smelled like a cheap detergent. Jinyoung stood up and gathered all his strength to knock on the door. “Mark?”

The boy inside fidgeted. His body tensed up as he straightens the unintentional fold prints on his suit.  “Y-yeah. Come in, Jinyoungie.” He said, his voice stiffened.  He was nervous. He’d been through this for 4 straight years but this time, it’s different. He’s too anxious about everything and it’s starting to kill him inside. Before Mark could produce another non-sense thought, the door creaked and Jinyoung appread.

Wow. Just wow. Mark said to himself as he stared at Jinyoung with full admiration. The younger was wearing a black suit as well. It was made from a middle class type of satin but it really looked elegant on the other. His shoes were black and shiny. And what made him really stunning was the black bowtie attached on his white collared shirt. Not to mention his hair, pushed down and it gave a classy approach to the younger. Mark just stood there, amazed.

Jinyoung raised his brows, confused. “Mark?” He said. Truly, Jinyoung tried his best not to act like Mark. He contained his thoughts after seeing Mark in his shimmering suit. He looked like an artist from a movie scene. The red head was drop dead handsome and Jinyoung knows it. The younger blinked multiple times as Mark finally snapped back to reality. He trudged towards the other and sat on his bed. “You look good, Mark.” Jinyoung complimented; Mark wanted to melt into puddles.

It’s not that he have been never addressed as handsome or whatsoever admiring comments but that’s from Jinyoung, Park Jinyoung; the man that hugs him to sleep, the man that comforts him and makes him beam, the boy that he wants to see every morning. He looked back at the mirror as he avoided Jinyoung’s gaze because honestly, it made him feel more uncomfortable. Weird isn’t it?

The elder flashed a shy grin. “Thanks. You too, you look awesome.”

“Awesome? Wow! That’s a big word.” The two giggled. He got up and walked towards Mark’s place. He slowly placed himself in front of Mark before lessening the space between their bodies. For a second, the elder thought of some inappropriate things; more like kissing and stuff but no, Jinyoung will never do that and Mark himself is sure that he’s never gonna let the younger do that. Well, not at this point probably.

The brunette smiled, faces were just inches away from each other. He can almost feel Mark’s breath tingling down his philtrum. He beamed and stared straight at Mark’s glistening eyes. Jinyoung’s hands made his way on the other’s tie, tying it properly. Yes, it’s just because of the tie. “You should’ve just used a bowtie if you’re not that confident with your tying skills, Markie.” He joked, focused on the small piece of silk cloth.

Mark’s body stiffed. He was like a paralyzed man, standing in front of an overly alluring person who’s fixing his tie. His throat seemed to dry and his forehead begun producing tiny drops of salty sweat. That feeling of having Jinyoung this close that he could almost stare at him and count his pores; it’s breath-taking.

Before the elder could notice, the brunette was done. He took as step away from Mark to see if the tie aligned with the buttons of his top. The younger raised his thumb and Mark smiled in return. Jinyoung sat back on the bed as Mark tried to gather himself up together again. “Jinyoung? Are you nervous?” he asked upon seeing Jinyoung’s habit of playing with his fingers.

The other nodded. Mark grinned and sat beside him as the elder wrapped an arm around his waist. “I’m here! I’ll never leave you. Just stay beside me, okay?” And Jinyoung bobbed his head again. It didn’t take too long for the buddies to leave their dorm and ride a cab towards their school. There’s a huge welcoming party for all the new and exchange students; Jinyoung has not the party-type of person. He doesn’t drink, nor dance in the dark. This is not his style.

They arrived at the venue; lights for different hues and the blasting volume of the music greeted them both. Jinyoung’s hands trembled and Mark made his move by instantly intertwining his fingers with the other. The younger didn’t mind the skinship, it’s just something that might help him now. With a gentle tug, Mark started to walk and Jinyoung followed.

Students of all kinds were there; the richest, the bullies, the dweebs, perfect faces and others. There he is; the positive guy Park Jinyoung with his bipolar buddy Mark Tuan. It’s just a night anyway. He would just sit down there and eat. Maybe he’ll look for his best bud, Jaebum and the cute sophomore that he met 2 days ago, Choi Youngjae. He’s just too worried about this but then he’s born with overflowing positive-ness so he still managed to carry on.

What caught Jinyoung’s attention was the basket of roses at the entrance and why are the students getting one for themselves. “Mark, what was that for?” he questioned while pointing at it. Mark sighed and pulled the other on the way to it. “Get one.” He stated and the other followed. Mark also grabbed one for himself. “Later, you have to give this to someone that you admire or someone that’s special to you, someone that you would like to thank or you want to be friends with.” Mark elaborated as he stared at Jinyoung, who was beautifully staring at the red rose.

“Is that a tradition here?” Jinyoung asked as they both entered the party hall. Hands still tightly clasped, the two walked from here to there without any relevant reason. “Hey Mark Tuan!” A voice called. Mark turned around and saw his friends, Jackson and Yugyeom. He pulled Jinyoung with him as they made way towards each other. “Hey Jinyoung!” Yugyeom greeted. “I’m Yugyeom.”

“I’m Jackson. Wild and y Jackson Wang. Nice to meet you!”

And Jinyoung made a hearty laugh, making Mark’s heart flutter. Jinyoung looked so cute when he’s like this. “Nice to meet you too.” Jackson and Yugyeom stared at each other, shooting the same glare at Mark. It seems like they’re thinking of the same thing. Jackson let out a fake cough before Mark averted his sight back to his friends. “So…It was nice to see you both! It’s been a week. ” Mark blurted out, covering the embarrassment. He knew his friends too well, he’s pretty sure that they noticed how he lovingly looked at Jinyoung.

They all gathered in an empty corner and talked. Jinyoung was happy. He’s always happy. Meeting new friends makes him feel better. Yugyeom is a junior while Jackson is also as the same year as them. The brunette talked more to Yugyeom because his too cute when he laughs. While Mark and Jackson seemed too serious with their conversation so Jinyoung didn’t bother to in.

“I think he likes you.” Yugyeom said.

Jinyoung chuckled louder than he should, garnering attention from most of the students including his buddy and Jackson. “Jinyoung!?” Mark said.

“Yugyeom said that he thinks you like me!” He managed to say between his endless giggles. Tears are forming on his eyelids due to extreme happiness. It really was a good joke.

Mark stared at the ground, startled. He looked for the right words to say; like should he laugh with Jinyoung or should he punch Yugyeom for being an . The brunette observed his buddy, realizing that maybe Mark took it seriously. The younger patted his shoulder. “Hey, Yugyeom was just joking!”

Mark made a fake smirk before giving Yugyeom a death glare. The youngest looked away before lifting himself off the couch. “I’m not joking!” he yelled before running his life away from the 3 elders. Mark screeched and tried to run after him but Jinyoung, who was still in the middle of laughing, stopped him right away. The red-haired sat back down but Jinyoung didn’t remove his hand on the other’s wrist. What if Yugyeom was right? Mark said to himself.

The night was too fast. After an hour, it’s already time to give out the roses and ask someone for a dance. Jackson excused himself from the 2 and said that he’s going to look for the cute Thai boy that he saw earlier. With only the both of them left in that area, Jinyoung questioned. “Maybe we should join them too.” Pointing at the busy crowd of students giving away their roses. The elder nodded and they went right there.

The vibe was too enigmatic when suddenly a slow song played. (link to the song) All the busy students grabbed their partners. Jinyoung was standing there, admiring how beautiful the scene is. People were made to love each other and the brunette loves seeing sights like this. It makes him feel fuzzy. He was brightly smiling when he saw Mark, looking affectionately at him.

He cupped Mark’s cheeks. “Like what you see?” he asked cheekily before giggling.  The red-haired blushed deeply. Yes, I like it, Jinyoung. He looked away and Jinyoung removed his hands on the other’s face. There’s a weird urge for Mark to ask Jinyoung for a dance. But what if he declines? The elder was kinda freaking out; good thing Jinyoung came to the rescue. “Wanna dance?” he asked with a soft expression.

Stuttering for words, Mark nodded. Without any hesitation, Jinyoung lifted his arms and loosely wrapped them around Mark’s neck, pulling him close as well. Jinyoung felt so comfortable with this. Mark was so close and he looks so perfect. His lips were slightly jutted as he blushed. His eyes were shimmering and the younger just wants to fall right into the moment.

Mark on the other side, was still shocked on how swift everything had happened. There, Jinyoung was clinging into him while he was holding the younger on his waist. It’s just surreal! Mark tried to avoid initiating an eye contact because it might be the cause of his death. But when Jinyoung stopped staring at him, he urgently gazed at the other’s façade. The whole thing is just too perfect. He never wanted it to end.  They slowly rode the waves of the music for a couple of seconds when suddenly….

“Jinyoungie!?”

A voice from Mark’s back echoed. Mark froze.

“Jaebum!”

Jinyoung easily removed his limbs off Mark; just as how easily those got attached onto the other few seconds ago. Leaving the red-haired dumbfounded, Jinyoung happily run into Jaebum’s embrace. And soon, the 2 were nowhere to be seen. Mark was just there, trying to comprehend what happened. That’s it! He was almost there! But Jaebum showed up and killed everything. Tough luck it is.

“You should’ve hugged him tight.” Another voice was heard. Mark lazily looked beside and saw Yugyeom with a sly beam. There was no way he’s going to make a revenge from what the younger did earlier because right now, Mark was too broke to move. He just frowned at Yugyeom.

“W-why? It’s okay! He’s the one who pulled me anyway.”

Yugyeom hit his back. “Stop lying to yourself. You’re jealous.”

“I’m not!”

“Whatever, loser. ”

“Jae-ah! It was nice to see you here!” Jinyoung cheered. Jaebum’s attire was too sophisticated and it matched him well. He pulled Jinyoung into a hug as the younger rested his head at the other’s shoulder. “I was looking for you.” He murmured while dipping his nose in Jinyoung’s vanilla scented locks. This was the most intimate thing he and his best friend had ever done. A blush crept up his cheeks and his arms clung tighter at Jaebum’s body. The raven-haired was not the one to hate the contact, so he pulled Jinyoung again as if there’s no more fair space between them. They happily swayed with the music and all. Jaebum was happy. Jinyoung was the happiest.

And Mark was standing few meters away from them, hurting.  He doesn’t even know why, but the pain was intolerable. Seeing how happy Jinyoung was. The fact that he blushed when he was with Jaebum made Mark feel weak. The way the rested his body against the other, it was too natural. A sudden grip made the elder avert his sight. It was Jackson.

“Look away, dude. You’re hurting yourself.”

An hour passed. Mark stayed at the bench as he munched himself to oblivion. He needs to get rid of all his thoughts before he’s gone mad. He received plenty of roses from the girls that like him but he doesn’t care. It’s normal for him to get these much every year. But why was he waiting for Jinyoung to hand him his rose? Mark signed. “Heeeey!” Jinyoung appeared from nowhere with 3 rose stalks on hand.

Mark raised his eyebrows and gave a bitter look. “What?”

“I got 3 roses!” He giggled. “…one, from my classmate that borrowed my pen and copied my seatwork.  Another one from Youngjae, because he’s thankful that we approached him during his first day here and lastly, from Jaebum!” he added.

Mark nearly spitted the drink he was consuming. “Jaebum?” the younger nodded and he seemed really happy getting a rose from his crush. Soon, Mark’s mortal enemy was there, Jaebum, sitting beside Jinyoung for whatsoever reasons. The brunette excused himself because he’s going to look for Youngjae. Mark wasn’t able to control himself. He needs to plot his revenge to this attention stealer beside him. 

“Wow. Someone with a bad taste gave you a rose. Not bad for a new comer.” Mark teased.

Jaebum nodded with a grin. “Yup. Not bad, especially if it’s from my best friend.”

“Jinyoung? That’s from Jinyoung?!”

And Jaebum stood up. He smiled at Mark before leaving the area. Later Jinyoung came back from somewhere and looked for Jaebum but Mark ignored him. “You gave yours to Jaebum?” Mark furiously asked. “Yes. Why? Are you expecting it?”

“N-no! Of course not!”

The party ended and everybody had a great time but let’s just remove Mark from the ‘everybody’ cause he was just completely ruined and tormented. They reached Jinyoung’s dorm and the younger noticed the silence of the red-haired. Thinking that maybe it’s because of the dance. Maybe he was annoyed because Jaebum grabbed him all of a sudden. But whether it’s because of it or not, Jinyoung is more than willing to continue what was interrupted earlier.

As soon as Mark entered their room, soulless, Jinyoung closed the main light and turned the lamp on. Mark was surprised. Jinyoung played a random song from his phone (link to the song) and turned to Mark. The taller man wrapped his arms on his neck, just like how they looked earlier. It was really dark but then, the lamp light made them see a glimpse of each other’s face. Jinyoung was smiling, radiantly.

He rested his head on Mark’s shoulder. “Sorry.” He said. And Mark gave in. He trapped the boy in his hold and buried his face on the other's neck. It was too much for friends but Mark just can’t help himself from owning Jinyoung. He wants Jinyoung just for himself. Call him selfish, but that’s how it is. Surely, Jinyoung never bothered. He’s an affectionate person after all.

“Not your fault.”

Jinyoung smiled, knowing that Mark’s finally back to normal. They swayed slowly, as if they’re filling up the wasted time few hours ago; the time when Mark was having Jinyoung close to him, when Jinyoung just can’t stop himself from gazing at Mark. Mark pulled out something from his coat, the red rose.He was at the verge of leaving the rose together with his heartache at the party but he really wanted to give it to the younger. 

He handed it to Jinyoung. “Thank you for making me happy every single day.” he whispered.

Jinyoung beamed in return.

 At that very moment, all that mattered to Mark was Jinyoung.

a/n; hello guys!! another long chapter hahahahaha first of all, sorry for adding too much JJP here hahahaha i ship them too and i just dont know how to deal with my JJP feels atm hahahahaha i also added the links of the songs that we're played in the story. ♪♫ i believe that it can enhance the feelings when you read whilst listening to those hahahaha i was listening to those songs while i'm writing this :)) again, thanks for the positive feedbacks! much appreciated guys ♥ so yeah, stay safe! enjoy your weekend! love y'all! ☺♥