translucent [markson]

[Twelve] Eavesdropping

"His parents are rich?" Mark asked, his eyebrow raising.

"Yeah, they own one of the biggest companies in China," BamBam responded, quietly.

"Then what's Jackson doing in Korea?" Mark had asked an innocent question, but he didn't understand how sensitive of a topic it was. BamBam was the only one that did.

"His parents..." BamBam began. His eyes wandered around the library, looking to see if there were people around them. His gaze landed on Yugyeom, who was leaning around a bookshelf to glare at BamBam as a way of telling him to stop. The others didn't notice.

"You better not," Yugyeom mouthed to BamBam. If BamBam told the three, the word could spread. Not only would that make Jackson's school life harder, but it would also give his parents a bad reputation.

"Yeah, I don't know..." He left the other three confused, because they could tell that he knew something.

"You know him better than any of us. You're one of the only people who knew him before high school, so you're basically the most reliable source we have. Maybe besides his roommate. Surely you know something," JB pressed. BamBam's eyes continued to flicker between Yugyeom and his friends. The determined looks on his friend faces made his confidence waver, but nothing was more intimidating than Yugyeom's merciless stare.

"Look, even if I did know something, it wouldn't be my place to tell. Besides, he already has to deal with so much shit at this school. I wouldn't want to add to that."

Yugyeom could feel the anger flush to his face. He knew how much Jackson had to go through, and how much BamBam just added to it all. Though Jackson kept a lot to himself, Yugyeom could read Jackson like a book. He knew that Jackson rarely ever let anyone get very close to him out of fear of being thrown away. It was obvious to Yugyeom that Jackson developed issues from how his parents treated him. He didn't want to be left alone again, but that's exactly what BamBam was doing to him.

"How do you even know Jackson and Yugyeom anyway?" Youngjae asked. Upon hearing his name, Yugyeom moved back behind the bookshelf, still listening.

"We met in elementary school." BamBam nervously looked around to check if Yugyeom was still there. Yugyeom had scared him shitless, making him cautious of every word that came out of his mouth.

"Was Jackson the same asshole he is now?" JB joked. Yugyeom gritted his teeth, taking a deep breath and storming away with Jackson's project still in his hands.

They didn't know anything about Jackson, and it pissed the hell out of Yugyeom that they called Jackson an asshole. They didn't know Jackson's family situation, they didn't hear Jackson's stupid -- but cute -- little jokes, they didn't know how soft and mushy the guy was at heart. The whole thing felt so unfair and suffocating to Yugyeom. He was aware that Jackson couldn't do much to prove his schoolmates wrong, meaning Jackson was kind of stuck with the title he was given.

On his way back to his dorm, he could feel a tear slipping down his cheek. Though sensitive, he didn't cry often, so he was surprised at the sudden outbreak of emotion. People gave him odd looks, but he gave them no thought and continued to walk. All he wanted was the best for his best friend, even if achieving that would be difficult.

He supposed that he was crying so Jackson didn't have to, because Jackson wouldn't cry for himself anytime soon. The times Yugyeom had seen Jackson cry were all because of something outside of himself. He had cried over movies and books, and the time Yugyeom twisted his ankle dancing. Jackson hadn't cried when he got punched in the face at the age of twelve, or when his parents didn't talk to him for three years straight. The boy Yugyeom admired so much had gone through hell and back, never once letting pity get the best of him.