There was a reason why Jinyoung elected to be the lonely inhabitant of the living room in the GOT7 apartment. The last thing a trainee needed was to be caught staring inappropriately at another roommate. Hence, while the noise from the actual dorm rooms sounded a lot merrier than his self-sentenced hermitage, which would occasionally be intruded upon by one of the members crossing into the kitchen for a drink of water, Jinyoung was ultimately at peace knowing he could be himself in his quarters.

Over the months of training for their debut, Jinyoung became more at ease when he realized how unattractive the rest of the team could be. The squealing fan girls on saw the tip of the iceberg. The maknae was a real bully to Jinyoung. Bambam was cute, but like a younger brother would be. Youngjae and Jackson could be funny, but they were also loud and brutish, which wasn’t necessarily charming to Jinyoung, though he genuinely enjoyed their company. And Jinyoung had lived with Jaebum before during the JJ Project days – Jinyoung decided there was nothing to crush on in a man who didn’t know how to lift the toilet seat before he peed.

Then there was Mark.

When it came to meal times, Mark never rubbed anyone the wrong way. On the rare occasion Mark messed up a move at dance practice, he made up for it by staying late in the dance studio. Everyone knew that Mark had the most flight time during the dance routines, next to Jackson, hence Mark’s moves were critical to their success on stage. The dance teachers often reminded the group how dangerous it could be to perform Martial Arts Tricks. Consequently, the group took turns reminding Mark and Jackson to walk a half-lap around the studio after each attempt at a flip, to avoid any serious injury.

Mark and Jackson’s physical well-being were absolutely everyone’s concern in the group. Then there was the concern held by specifically Jinyoung-Umma. There were times when Jinyoung swore he heard that subtle noise Mark’s joint’s made when he landed – the sound of bones cracking upon impact with the floor. It made Jinyoung shudder at the thought. It also made him realize that anyone could dance – it took real guts to do a double somersault in the air, and then land on a knee like Superman.

Jinyoung appreciated what Mark did for the group. And then there was Jinyoung's appreciation for Mark -- the wide smile which sometimes formed this mischievous grin, the bright glowing eyes, and the hair that tumbled gracefully down Mark’s head like… break-dancers midflight.

Mark was a handsome guy – but also an undoubted threat to Jinyoung’s safety. In the day, Jinyoung couldn’t stop staring at Mark. At night, Jinyoung couldn’t stop thinking about him. Sooner or later, Jinyoung would screw up and everyone would find out that he was actually crushing on Mark. And so Jinyoung did his best to either avoid interacting with Mark altogether, or to be sheepishly awkward around him when the situation required it.

Then there was one late night when GOT7 was at the company building, waiting for Mark to finish off one of his overtime rehearsals. It was several weeks before their official debut, and Mark felt a lack of confidence in some of the key moves. After practice, he requested to rehearse alone in the studio, for an indefinite amount of time. The rest of the boys didn’t mind – the manager booked off a waiting room, which was stocked with several water bottles and rice cakes.

In the room, Jackson, Youngjae and Jaebum were unnecessarily loud again. Yugyeom was teasing Bambam. Jinyoung would join in, but he felt tired. More so he felt worried for Mark. Hyunh was simply magnetic to Jinyoung.

What are you doing? Jinyoung thought helplessly. Anxious, Jinyoung got out of his seat.

“Where are you going,” Jaebum asked.

“I’m gonna tell Mark it’s time to go home.”

Jinyoung brought with him an unopened bottle of water, and one-and-a-half rice cakes from the waiting room’s food supply. The one rice cake was Mark’s ration, while the half-cake was a portion of Jinyoung's that he couldn’t finish due to his incessant worrying. If left unattended, Jinyoung’s portion would have been short work for Jackson or Bambam.

He paused a bit at the door to the studio. He opened the door cautiously, but didn’t enter. Thud went the floor as Mark landed again.

“Hyung, it’s getting late.” Jinyoung declared. Another thud filled the room as Mark landed from another flip.

“Yeah?” Mark said. He looked down as if trying to hide his frustration. It became apparent that Mark made little progress over the past hour.

“Yeah, Hyung.” Jinyoung replied. Mark circled the room quietly yet intensely, as if to start another flip in spite of Jinyoung’s interruption. But Jinyoung wouldn’t have it.

“It’s not gonna help if you hurt yourself.” Jinyoung cried.

Mark stopped walking and looked up to face Jinyoung. Mark was dripping with sweat on his face, and in large amounts through his tank top. His shoulders heaved up and down as Mark let out several exasperated breaths. But for the most part, Mark didn’t seem as tense as when Jinyoung opened the door. And so Jinyoung seized the moment to cross over the threshold and offer Mark his share of the food.

“Here you go.”

Mark received the items with polite gratitude. “Thanks for bringing these down for me. Could you also hand me my towel and my hoodie? They’re by the door.”

Jinyoung nodded and walked over to pick up the requested items. When he returned, the rice cake had already been consumed by Mark, followed swiftly by several large gulps of water. Jinyoung realized he was staring again – at Mark’s neck as he drank the water. Mark always looked so masculine when he did that. Then Mark finished drinking and Jinyoung had to give a reason for being so statuesque.

“You’re starving...” Jinyoung uttered. “...Here, take the other half of my rice cake.”

Mark smiled. “You sure?”

“Yeah, there are extras in the waiting room.” Jinyoung said. It was a lie for sure but, at least Mark wouldn’t feel bad about accepting the offering.

“Thanks Jinyoung-umma!” Mark replied and accepted the piece with a grateful smile.

Jinyoung smiled, at the remark -- Umma. He was really starting to own the title as 'Mommy of GOT7'. But then again, in Jinyoung’s mind, who else would watch over those barbaric brutes. Mark’s mentioning of Jinyoung matron-status helped him ease into his skin.

“Umma, I’m all sweaty.” Mark teased.

“Oh right.” And Jinyoung took to patting his face. That was the right thing to do perhaps. In Jinyoung’s mind he would have done the same for the other members of the group. Plus he was addressed by Mark as 'mother' – what kind of mom would chuck the towel at their son and then leave.

Still, Mark looked a bit bewildered, and Jinyoung started to feel nervous.

“Don’t worry, umma’s here.”

Mark smiled. Mark then brought his hand towards the towel. But he didn’t take the towel from Jinyoung – to Jinyoung’s surprise, he grabbed Jinyoung’s hand with the towel, and helped Jinyoung in drying his face. And at once Jinyoung was overwhelmed. Mark’s eye smile started showing, so Jinyoung had to be doing something right. Right?

As soon as Mark’s face was dry, Jinyoung let Mark have the towel so he could dry the back of his neck. Patting that area might definitely get Jinyoung caught. Or at least put Jinyoung in a hospital for an excessive nose hemorrhage, as caused by embarrassment.

“Hyung?” Jinyoung asked with new-found confidence.

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you scared of injuring yourself when you flip?”

“I try not to be.” Mark finished the drying himself and draped the towel around his neck. “I do it because… I care about my family. GOT7 is my family and I want to show I care.”

“That’s sweet, Hyung.” Jinyoung remarked. “Just take it easy. You don’t want to end up with a sprained ankle.”

“Thanks, umma,” And Mark grinned. Jinyoung felt pleased. And when it was time for Mark to put on his hoodie, Mark held his arms up and closed his eyes like a little kid, inviting Jinyoung to once again, play mommy. And it became apparent to Jinyoung as he rolled the sweater over Mark's heated body, that Mark didn’t mind being close to Jinyoung. In fact, Mark seemed to welcome it.

 “Oh, and Jinyoung?”

“Yes, Hyung?”

“Just call me Mark.”

Jinyoung smiled. And as the two boys left the studio together, Jinyoung became assured of two things. The first was that he didn’t have to worry so much about Mark’s opinion of him. The second was that he just fell for Mark even harder.