Jinyoung slurped his ramyeon loudly. Not that anyone would notice – the boys were indulging in their rowdy dinner-table conversation. Umma decided to not join in, but to politely smile when needed, and to quickly finish his meal so he could head to his room.

He simply wasn’t in the mood to make conversation.

“Suzy is such a pretty girl.”

As a trainee, Jinyoung had an idea of what variety programming would be like. Every pop group had the one broadcast where the boys courted the girls. But those goddamned producers -- that day, Jinyoung had spun around about thirty times, been bashed on the head with a ppyeong hammer, and subjected to a trivia game about one girl.

“But she didn’t do anything. All she did was laugh.”

“But noona did a dance.”

“It was so awkward though.”

“That’s why you talk to the ladies during the breaks. Best advice from Wooyung, ever.”

“Yeah, Jinyoung really got to talk to her then.”

The group whooped and cheered with fierce passion, whilst the boy smiled in kind while humbly palming a mouth full of noodles. It wasn’t so huge of a feat for Jinyoung who grew up with two older sisters. Small talk with the opposite was natural, if anything unhindered by awkward crushes. He had no need to exert a genuinely romantic or masculine presence.

“She didn’t talk to anyone else but Umma.”

“And Mark.”

“Oh yeah, Mark got real close with her. She put her hand on your chest too, didn’t she.”

“It was my shoulder.”

Jackson mimicked the action by placing a fluttery hand on Youngjae, to which the boy squealed, and the rest of the boys guffawed.

It was true that Jinyoung had made small talk with Suzy through most of the breaks. What he never expected was for the other boys to capitalize on it. Frequently, boys would come, compliment their Noona, but then get completely sidelined by the conversation that was already in place between Umma and Suzy. Then there was Mark, and his irresistible ‘Westerner Charm’. He simple came by to hand Jinyoung some water, and immediately Suzy was asking him about his experiences, leaving Jinyoung to simply nod and smile on the sidelines, just as he was did at the dinner table that evening. The sight of Mark accepting the palm on his shoulder had made Jinyoung's heart pang. Hence, the boy gave a muted laugh in response to Jackson's theatric flirtation with Youngjae.

Confirmed, Mark doesn’t like me. Just eat so you can go sulk in bed.

“Hey let’s not forget, she did pick me at the end of the tournament.”

“Or maybe she didn’t want to make you feel bad if she picked Mark, Bambam.”

Mark gave a cocky shrug in Bambam’s direction. The younger pouted, and JB put an arm around to comfort him. And with that, Jinyoung had finished his meal. He then reminded Yugyeom to wash the dishes, before entering his room to retire for the night. The boys went on for another hour.