Falling For the Bully

Chapter One

[Backstory]
"Okay boys, this is your new dorm. Now there are only three bedrooms, one of which has an offset that has been constructed to be a fourth bedroom. I will leave you to figure out the arrangements yourselves. The kitchen is stocked every Sunday morning with food that your nutritionist has deemed healthy and on track with your diets. Cooking and cleaning will be up to you boys, idols don't get special treatment in their own dorms. Each morning your manager will deliver your schedules and you must be back inside the dorm by 10 pm unless your schedule states otherwise. There is no leaving this dorm without contacting your manager first and you are not to bring other idols nor trainees into the dorm without permission. Especially those of other companies; those visits are prohibited without consent from both ours and their company. I believe I have covered everything so I shall take my leave now, InJung should be arriving soon to take you home for packing."

Park Jinyoung read off item after item from his phone without looking up at the seven boys. It was a few months before their debut and they had just been given an official group dorm. Usually, groups weren't given dorms until after their debut but this group was a special case; they were given their dorm early in order to work on their friendships with each other. As it turned out, some friendships had already been established amongst them but as a collective, they were far from what was considered a team. Without so much as a nod or a wave, the CEO of JYPE left the boys in silence and went on his way.

The boys stood looking at their socked feet, unsure of what to do next. "Let's not decide on the rooms until tonight, yeah?" JB said softly walking to the couch that was in the living room. The other six nodded and remained in their spots. Their manager entered the dorm shortly after; "You ready? I have your van downstairs" he said, tapping away on his phone screen. The boys slowly made their way to the door and one by one shoved their feet into their old, worn-out shoes and headed to the van.

[Story Start - Mark POV]
I got out of the van with Jackson and Kunpimook behind me; we were the first of the group to be dropped off. Being international trainees, we were taken back to the trainee dorm to pack up our things so we could move into our new dorm later. I had half a mind to call my parents once we got inside so I could deliver the good news but as I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time I figured they were probably asleep already.

"I'll return around 6:30 tonight. Please make sure your things are all packed and that you tidied your area before I arrive. You also won't need to catch the dinner bus to the company; JYP ordered food for our little celebration of your debut." Our manager, Park InJung, smiled through the van window; he was pretty cool I guess. He waved one last time before pulling away from the curb and driving off to drop the others off at their homes.

I felt a pang of jealousy towards them; they were all going home to deliver the news to their parents. Face to face they would look at them and say "I'm going to debut". Meanwhile, I had to wait until nightfall to talk to mine. I would be delivering the news through the phone late at night and not in the perfect mindset to talk about it properly.

I was still deep in thought when I felt an arm snake around my waist, "Markie? You okay bro?" Jackson asked from my right. I shook my head once before realizing I wasn't the only one who would be calling their parents about the news; He would be too. The thought eased my mind a little but being the oldest of us three I felt sad that we wouldn't be seeing our parents smiling faces when we spoke the words we had been longing to for years. This is the kind of news you should really deliver in person; I could imagine speaking those words and being hugged by my crying mom and dad. Sadly this was something that wouldn't be happening; it was impossible to fly 32 hours round trip in only five hours.

"Cheer up man. Our parents are going to be thrilled no matter where we are in the world. They've been waiting just as long as we have to hear those words." Jackson spoke again. I looked up and noticed the youngest standing off to the side looking confused. He hadn't quite grasped English fully but it was much better than trying to speak in broken Korean. "Hyung are you sad?" He asked trying his best to understand the situation. I gave him a long look and wondered what he must have been feeling. Here he was this barely 16-year-old kid asking me, a near-adult if I was okay. Being the oldest it was my job to make sure he was.

I shook my head and pulled him into a hug, "Just a little homesick." I whispered. Though I barely heard it, my heart clenched in my chest as he whispered, "Me too". I gathered up my emotions and shook away my thoughts before looking him in the eye, "Kunpimook. We're going to be okay, just trust your hyungs hm? We know better than anyone what it's like being so far from home" I said using a comforting voice and simple English. He smiled brightly and took my hand and Jackson's hand in his and led us into the trainee dorm for the last time.

The other trainees hadn't returned from practice yet which made me feel a bit relieved. While I hadn't spoken to half of them, I guess I was intimidating since I was the oldest, I still felt weird about leaving them. Especially Jason and Emery; both were from America, like me, and only began training this year. They had been struggling with living abroad and not knowing even basic Korean yet so I had been helping them. Suddenly I didn't want to leave; who would look after them once I left? I felt my chest tighten, but