"Hey, is it just me or has JB been acting kinda weird lately?"

Jinyoung looks up from his book, a deep wrinkle already forming between his eyebrows at the interruption. Still, he hasn't buried his nose back in whatever pretentious drek that he's pretending to find interesting, so Jackson steps fully into the other man's room, shutting the door behind him. Jinyoung throws his head back with a loud sigh, closing his book with the flick of his wrist.

"How do you mean, 'weird'?" he asks.

Jackson crosses the space between the door and the bed, inviting himself to take a seat on the edge. "Haven't you noticed how moody he's been lately?" Jinyoung opens his mouth, but Jackson cuts him off. "And before you say that that's just typical Jaebum, consider the fact that he hasn't lost his temper once in over a week."

Their leader has been prone to fits of brooding for as long as any of them have known him, but the lack of violence was just bizarre. Yesterday, Youngjae had an unfortunate accident with his bottle of face cream that had globs splattered all over every visible surface of his and Jaebum's shared room. When he found the mess, Jaebum got that dark look on his face that is almost always a precursor to an angry lecture, but then he didn't even raise his voice when he ordered the younger man to clean up.

"I guess you have a point there," Jinyoung says thoughtfully with his chin in his hand.

"Right?" Jackson bounces, knocking Jinyoung's book off his lap. "What do you think is going on with him? I figured you might know something since you've been with him the longest."

"Well, he hasn't talked to me about any problems recently, but..." Jinyoung trails off, his eyes slightly unfocused as he his chin.

"But?" Jackson leans forward.

"Shortly after GOT7 was formed, Jaebum-hyung and I were talking and he said something about being cursed."

"Cursed?" Jackson frowns in confusion.

"I don't recall what he said verbatim, I only remember telling him that he was worried for no reason. If anything, he was probably just sensitive about the future of the new group after JJ Project got shelved. You know how he gets," Jinyoung shrugs.

"You don't remember?" Jackson groans.

"If you're that curious about it then you should just ask him yourself," Jinyoung rolls his eyes, reopening his book.

That's the last thing that Jackson wants to do, but it seems like he's run out of options. Mark brushed off his concerns, Yugyeom and Bambam were too afraid of incurring Jaebum's wrath by prying, and Youngjae was if the view that they should leave him alone since he hadn't asked for their help. Jackson had been counting on Jinyoung to back him up, but now he's on his own.

After he exits Jinyoung's room, he heads straight for Jaebum and Youngjae's room; a quick peak inside reveals a lack of either of its two occupants. Jackson then checks every other room in the house, only to still come up empty.

"The ? He wouldn't have left the building if we didn't have a schedule," Jackson frowns. "Hey, dude, where the hell is Jaebum?" Jackson asks as he pops his head inside his and Mark's room.

"Try the roof," Mark mutters, his eyes fixed on the screen of his laptop.

"The roof?" Jackson an eyebrow. "Since when does Jaebum hang out on the roof?" Mark raises and lowers his shoulder in a shrug.  "Don't you think that's weird?"

"Second to the toilet, it's the only place in the building where a man can get some privacy," Mark finally looks up from his computer, giving Jackson a significant look.

Jackson rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Have fun with your skeezy cartoon !" he sneers. Mark flicks his wrist in a wave, his gaze focused on his laptop again.

It's freezing cold and probably snowing outside, so Jackson should change into something a bit warmer than basketball shorts, but he just grabs a long coat before he heads to the stairs leading to the roof. He's not even sure why their building has an accessible roof when there's nothing like a swimming pool or a basketball court up there, but it's where he finds Jaebum.

"Gazing out at the horizon while alone on a roof even though it's the middle of winter? I'm pretty sure that's anime character bingo," Jackson sighs as he siddles up beside the older man. Jaebum's mouth twists slightly at his quip. Good, at least he realises that he's being ridiculous. "So, what's on your mind? We all know that you can brood with the best of them, but this is just creepy."

"It's nothing and everything," Jaebum sighs.

"Oh, God, it's like talking to Jinyoung after he just finished one of his novels," Jackson groans.  That at least gets a chuckle out of Jaebum.

"Really, though, there's nothing actually going on with me. My mind is just stuck on a hypothetical."

"What's that?" Jackson tilts his head, leaning forward with interest. He jumps back with a very unmanly yelp when the bare skin of his arms makes contact with the cold metal railing.

Jaebum chews on his lower lip for a moment before he gives an answer. "It's almost been a year since we debuted as GOT7."

Jackson nods encouragingly, "Yeah, Jinyoung said you thought you were cursed."

"I never said I was cursed! I just noticed some potentially ominous coincidences," Jaebum bristles.

"Like what?" Jackson can't help but feel like this conversation is going off the rails.

"It sounds stupid when I say it out loud," Jaebum frowns, shaking his head.

"Dude, just say it so I can go back inside before I lose a toe. It's too ing cold for talking in circles."

"No one made you come out here; I certainly didn't."

"Youngjae did! He's been bugging me all day about how worried he is about you. It's annoying as hell, so just say it."

"Park Jaebum!" Jaebum blurts out.

"What?" Jackson is at peak confusion right now.

"Park Jaebum. He used to be a member of 2PM," Jaebum sighs.

"Yeeeah, and what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, he wasn't just a member, he was also their leader. The scandal happened just before 2PM's first anniversary. He was also a b-boy..." Jaebum vaguely waves a hand. Light bulb.

"So, you think that just because you two have the same name-"

"I already said it was stupid," Jaebum covers his eyes with his hand.

"Oh, JB, JB, JB," Jackson pulls the older man's hand away, revealing his pinkened cheeks. "You are, like, the last person in the group who is likely to cause a scandal, after Yugyeom. If anyone, I should be the one fretting about that," Jackson points out.

Jaebum's lips quirk up in a smile. "True, you are the short, noisy of our group." Jackson mimes kicking Jaebum in the shin. "Still," the smile slips off his face, "I made a lot of mistakes and pissed off more than a few people when I was a trainee. We laugh about it on shows, but who's to say it won't come back and bite me in the ?"

"I can't say that it won't, no one can, but brooding about it isn't gonna help. It's just freaking me out. Uh, I mean Youngjae, it's upsetting Youngjae."

Jaebum's smile returns to his face, with 90% more smugness. "Alright, I'll stop dwelling on it. You know, for Youngjae's sake."

"Good!" Jackson claps his hands, turning on his heel to hide his face. He doesn't get far before he's caught in a headlock.

"Thanks for talking me down, punk," the rigidity of his arms trapping Jackson on the spot belies the softness of Jaebum's tone.

"Yeah, whatever," Jackson mumbles, trying-and failing-to suppress a grin.

"Come on, then. Let's go back before poor Youngjae bursts into tears," Jaebum chuckles lowly as he releases Jackson.

" you, man," Jackson calls over his shoulder as he quickly shuffles over to the stairs.