My Ace

Chapter 15 ♣️

Mark wouldn't say his hangovers were terrible, but no matter how much he drank, he almost always had them the next morning.

He woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs wafting into the bedroom from the kitchen. Mark almost got up, but that was before he realized he was missing most of his clothes, everything but his top, most of which was probably scattered around the apartment.

He wrapped the blanket around himself and shuffled to the doorway. "Jaemin?" He called out.

"Morning Beautiful!" The younger responded cheerfully.

"Do you have a spare set of clothes I could borrow?"

"Yeah, bathroom closet. Take whatever you want. There's some spare towels in there too if you want to shower."

Mark shut the door softly and set the blanket back down before entering the attached bathroom. He attempted to turn on the shower, but Jaemin had a weird set up compared to Mark's bathroom, and he couldn't figure it out.

This time in a towel, he walked back to the doorway of the bedroom, nearly colliding with Jaemin who was trying to open the door. Mark fell backwards from the force, and his towel slipped off.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry," Jaemin said, offering his hand. "I was just coming because I remembered my shower can be hard to manage."

Mark got up with Jaemin's help and quickly covered himself with the towel again. "I-it's alright. Can you help me?"

After a quick demonstration, Jaemin left Mark to get ready.

Mark couldn't explain why, but he just wanted to break down yet again. It's not like his night with Jaemin was horrendous, and it wasn't because of the towel slip minutes ago. He couldn't explain why. He let his tears mix with the water, sobbing softly so Jaemin wouldn't hear.

Mark scrubbed as hard as he could, the feeling of dried sweat and oils on himself driving him crazy. His skin had turned red by the time he finished showering, and his eyes were puffy and red.

He opened up Jaemin's closet and just took the first things his hands could grab and slipped them on. When he entered the room, Jaemin was looking worried on the bed. "You okay, Mark?"

Mark clenched his jaw. "Yeah I'm alright. Just a bit stressed I guess." So Jaemin most likely heard him crying. Great.

"I made breakfast for us," Jaemin said, awkwardly playing with his fingers.

Mark gave the younger a small smile. "Thank you."

"If there's anything bothering you, you can always talk to me, or anyone here, really." Jaemin stood up. "We truly care about you, Mark."

Mark nodded, his throat suddenly feeling tight. He managed to croak out a small "thank you" before they made their way to the kitchen.

"I'm not great at breakfast," Jaemin admitted, gesturing to the food on the table, "but I tried a few recipes Jen and Lele have showed me before."

Mark couldn't manage out anymore words, so they just sat down and dug in. It was quiet, a little awkward at moments, but mostly a peaceful silence to enjoy Jaemin's cooking.

"This was delicious, Jaemin," Mark said. "Thank you, and I'm sorry if I seem off or upset."

Jaemin nodded. "It's alright... Did I do something stupid last night? Or did something happen since then?"

Mark shook his head. "I dont really know why, and I can't say this is for sure the reason, but I think I just get a wave of shit feelings after sex for however long. It's happened often in the past for me, but I think this is the first time where I've actually said something about it."