Homeless ➹ 2jae [✓]

- 10 -

"The coast is clear, right?" Youngjae asked Mark, who was standing by the door. The rest of the guys were waiting in different places so they could get Youngjae out of the building without him being seen.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on," he said, the younger running after him to the staircase. Jinyoung met them at the staircase door, and they ran down the four floors to the back exit; The exit that was meant to be used by security and janitors. It was becoming dark out, so the university was more careful to see who was coming and going, and they didn't want to be caught.

Once they got to the door to the outside, Jaebum and Jinyoung were waiting for them to come out, and they quickly ran to the street once they did. Mark and Youngjae were the most out of breath, since they'd been running the longest, but they were all laughing and trying to catch their breath once they'd completed carrying out their plan.

"How'd you guys do?" Jinyoung asked, looking back at Youngjae. "Not too hard, right?"

"I guess not," Youngjae laughed, catching up with the group since he'd fallen behind a bit. "Wait, Mark, where's Jackson? He's always with you."

"Ah," Mark answered, "he has a couple late lectures today."

Jinyoung snickered, "On a Saturday? Damn, that sucks!"

"Nah, it's alright," Mark smiled. "Besides, now I can hang more with this guy, right?" He threw his arm over Youngjae's shoulders, bringing out a pleased grin. Youngjae enjoyed the company he had with Mark, and easily grew to be good friends with him, despite not knowing him that well. Jaebum, however, wasn't a fan of the closeness he displayed with the lanky guy whose hair was fading from pink, of all colours. He thought, no, this wasn't jealousy. He just wondered why he wasn't able to be like that with Youngjae. It was difficult for him to not sneer at the two, but he kept himself composed.

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"You sneaked me out of there so you could buy clothes?" Youngjae scoffed, following the other boys into the small thrift shop. "Where did you even find this place? It's so out of the way."

Jaebum explained, "I used to come here alot when, uh... when I was in high school," as they walked inside. The store's aesthetic was isolated from the bustling cities that surrounded it, a pink and wooden style masking the inside. The clothing on the rack was washed t-shirts and jeans; The kind of shirts with outdated designs covering the front. Youngjae looked around, and then at Jaebum, failing to imagine the older wearing such fashion.

"Youngjae, we'll get some stuff for you, too," Jinyoung smiled, walking up to his friend. "Come on, let's look for something." While those two went off to find clothes, Mark and Jaebum had some time to talk with each other. They looked around at some shoes for a little bit, before Mark initiated a conversation.

"So, how long have you known Jackson?" he asked, eying a pair of dirtied converse. Jaebum looked down from his boots to the pale person next to him with an answer on his tongue and memories in his head.

"Hm.. A few years. Why?"

"No, nothing," Mark defended, "you two seem close. I was curious." Jaebum tried his hardest to maintain a straight face, but he cracked since Mark became significantly quieter at the end of his sentence. "What's funny?"

"You almost sound jealous, but I guess that's just me getting ahead of myself," he chuckled, checking out another pair of boots.

"Yah, way ahead of yourself!" Jaebum couldn't help but notice how awkward Mark sounded, but he didn't tease him any further. He wandered away to pick and choose things for him to wear, leaving the other to be on his own.

"Youngjae," Jaebum said, sneaking up behind the younger one, who was holding some shirts in his hand. Youngjae turned around with a startled expression, a smile soon creeping on his face with a chuckle to accompany it. Something about seeing Youngjae's white teeth like that always made Jaebum happy, so he did whatever he could to keep them visible.

"Dammit, don't do that!" the boy exclaimed, earning a smile out of Jaebum, as well. In that moment, though it would seem that they were just having fun, the thoughts of that awkward night clouded their thoughts. Youngjae couldn't stop thinking about when he would tell Jaebum what had happened, or if he would at all. Jaebum, on the other hand, was stuck in an endless loop of Ask him again! Don't ask him! He might as well tell me! I don't have any right to know! All of this, however, was masked with smiles and awkward laughs, and a split second of eye contact that seemed to last forever.

"Sorry, sorry! I just want to see what you'll get," he said gently, looking at Youngjae with soft eyes.

"Ah, not much. I like these shirts, but this is all I need."

"Ah- Let me pay for you if--"

"I was actually gonna... pay for him," Jinyoung butted in, taking the clothes from Youngjae. "I'll be right back," he spoke, directed at Jaebum, and was followed by Youngjae to the cash register. The one who was left near the entrance didn't know how to react, if he should have even reacted at all. He was conflicted because he really wanted to pay for Youngjae, but he wasn't sure why.

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a/n: i didn't have much time to edit this chapter, but i'll look through it again to fix any mistakes ^^ hope you enjoyed it~

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