Selfish *Markson AU*

Chapter Five

Chapter 5

Mark sat in the back of Jinyoung's car, staring out the window, tears running down his face. Jaebum and Jinyoung were silent, the radio quietly playing some popular song. Mark thought about Jackson at work, unaware that he left, probably not even thinking about him at all. Wiping his face, he peels his eyes away from the window, only to find that his best friend was watching him in the rear view mirror. Mark attempted a smile, but he knew he wasn't fooling anyone. He looked back out the window, finally noticing that they are heading out of the busy city of Seoul.

"Where are we going?" Mark asks, voice hoarse and low from him crying.

"Jackson knows where we live, so we thought that it wasn't good idea for you to be there. I have a good friend who has agreed to take you in. He lives in a small city about four hours away." Jaebum spoke quietly. Mark just nodded his head, he knew it was for the best, for his sake and his friend's.

"It wont interfere with your job, will it?" Jinyoung spoke up, Mark could see the concern on his face from the mirror.

"I have to go into the office about once a month, other than that everything should be fine. I just went last week." He would have to email his boss later and inform him about his new living arrangements. Everyone went back to silence and Mark's gaze went back to the window. Mentally and physically exhausted he fell asleep, dreaming about a life without having to cover up bruises, without living in fear. A life without Jackson.

"Mark, we're here." Mark woke up to a hand on his shoulder, lightly shaking him. He slowly opened his eyes, meeting Jinyoung's friendly ones. The sun was starting to set and they were parked in front of an apartment, Jaebum nowhere to be found. Mark stretched and yawned, his best friend helping him out of the car.

"Jaebum already brought your bags inside, I wanted you to rest some more, this must be hard on you." Mark looked at Jinyoung, grateful to have him in his life. Mark wrapped his arms around the younger man, pulling him into his chest.

"Thank you so much, Jinyounggie. Thank you for everything." Jinyoung hugged him back, laughing a little.

"No matter what it takes, as long as your'e happy I will be too." After a few more seconds they let go of each other and walked inside.

The building wasn't as big as the one Mark used to live in, but the inside was nice and the guard was friendly. They took the elevator up to the fifth floor and walked down the hallway until Jinyoung stopped in front of a door.

"This is your new home." He smiled at Mark, and he smiled back, feeling nervous. Jinyoung patted his friend on the shoulder and knocked on the door. they waited a few seconds, the door knob turned and the door slowly opened to reveal a brown haired male, about the same height as Mark. As soon as their eyes met, the guy smiled and stepped aside, letting them in.

"Hello, I'm Youngjae. Nice to meet you!" Youngjae's smile got even bigger, which Mark didn't think was possible.

"Hi, I'm Mark." Mark nearly whispered, realizing how pathetic he sounded. He looked around the apartment, it was smaller than the one he shared with Jackson, but this one felt warm and friendly, a home. Looking over at the couch, Mark saw Jaebum petting a ball of white fur.

"Oh I hope you don't mind dogs, she's really friendly and not a hassle I promise. Her name is Coco, she is a Maltese." Youngjae spoke quickly, sounding a bit nervous. Mark looked at him and smiled.

"I love dogs." Mark removed his shoes and walked over to the couch, holding his hand out for Coco to smell him. Coco immediately warmed up to Mark and he sat on the couch, petting her in his lap. Mark always wanted a dog, but they weren't allowed any in their apartment. Jackson promised that they would move to a place that allowed pets, but like every other promise, it was broken.

After a little while, Jinyoung and Jaebum left, A long trip back awaited them. Youngjae and Mark hadn't really spoken to each other, Youngjae too busy catching up with his old friend. As soon as Jinyoung and Jaebum left, Youngjae showed Mark around the apartment and Mark's new room, which was right across from his.

"I'd like to get to know you better, but I'm late for work. I'll see you in the morning!" Youngjae smiled and quickly left, leaving Mark standing in the middle of the living room, speechless. Working at this time? Mark looked at the clock on the wall, it was almost 10 pm. He decided that he would ask Youngjae about it later and grabbed something to eat out of the kitchen. What's mine is yours, Youngjae had said earlier, so Mark helped himself.

Afterwards he walked around the apartment, looking at everything. The decor was minimal, save for a few comic books laying around and family pictures on the wall. He knew very little about his new roommate, but he felt like he had nothing to worry about.

He found himself wandering into his room and he laid on his new bed, too lazy to unpack his things. The bedding was freshly washed and set up, a nice gesture. Mark pulled his phone out of his pocket, he had turned it off since he left. Not wanting to deal with whatever Jackson had left him, he set it on the bedside table and rolled over, attempting to sleep. He stared at the wall, thinking about Jackson.

He has to know by now. He's probably pissed. I wonder if he misses me?

Mark's mind went wild, wondering how Jackson was taking the news. The light weight that was added to the end of the bed pulled Mark away from his thoughts. He saw Coco climb over to him and sit beside him, tail lightly wagging. The horrible thoughts and worries were thrown out the window and Mark smiled. Rolling onto his back, he lifted the blanket for Coco to crawl under. She laid on his chest, almost immediately falling asleep. Coco had eased his mind and he started slowly drifting off to sleep, a smile still on his lips.