The next day morning, Yumi willingly agreed to just remain in the place, as she was planning to take a bath as soon as Mark and Jinyoung were off.
The two guys were on their own, heading for the land of berries, at ease. And they arrived there much earlier than before. Jinyoung always considered this process of getting the fruits, by being all over each other's body, an ordeal. But he also knew himself that he was not really recoiling from it.
After all the berries had been safely kept inside their backpacks, Mark cleared the ground near the tree and then lay down. Jinyoung was nearby in a crouch, looking at Mark and not knowing what to do: either to just sit there or follow suit.
"Come and relax here, Jinyoung," Mark invited him, patting the space beside him, "I think we've got more time today. Come here."
Hesitantly, Jinyoung approached Mark, and trying to shut down the unwanted thoughts, he lay down next to Mark. Mark had chosen the spot where they could clearly see the sky above. The sight of the clear sky gave Jinyoung that feeling of emptiness, and yet, at the same time, surreality.
The wind ruffled the leaves of the trees and once in a while, there was the sound of one or two berries fallen to the ground. It was all soothing in the surrounding, and it was as if urging Jinyoun to feel all relaxed when his body still stiffened, being around Mark.
Mark tilted his head to Jinyoung and started, "Your friends, they must be so worried about you now. For me though, there are none who'll feel concerned about me, maybe aside from the teachers."
"You don't have any friends?" Jinyoung asked, "It must be of your own choice. Because I don't see why anyone won't want to be friends with you. You're smart and confident. And you have that aura of someone people want to rely on."
"Hey, are you throwing shade at me?" Mark laughed, heartily, "Because you and Yumi relied on me, you two have ended up in this situation."
"No, I meant it. Maybe, you make mistakes but you still give the people around you, that feeling of safety. If you'd ended up here alone, you still would've known what to do. I'd never."
At those words, Mark went silent, but before long, he spoke again, "Tell me about yourself. For me though, it's much simple. I live with my parents and I've been interested in plants since young. I spend most of my time studying them. They never fail to excite me. Never. That's all about me."
"You saw my friends? They're my best friends. We've been together since we were freshmen. They're weird at times, but all the same, they're a comfort to me and I love them. We all stay at the dorm. My parents' place is far from the university. And that's it. My life is not more interesting than yours."
"What about your love life then?" Mark asked, looking at Jinyoung, who fell into his own thoughts at that question.
"It's complicated," Jinyoung said, "I'd been on the verge of going out with three different people for three times. But each time, it didn't work out. I've never been in a relationship."
"Why? Why didn't it work out?"
Jinyoung could not answer it straight away, and after a while, he turned to Mark and looked into his eyes, as if he would find the answer in them. He was, silently, figuring out the answer while Mark was gazing back at him.
Why had he been confused at such times when he had been about to confess to the girls he liked? Was Mark just asking him that question or helping him find the answer? But at last, he only muttered, "I don't know."
Mark did not withdraw his eyes and neither did Jinyoung, because there was always, in Mark's eyes, something which was drawing him in. Their eyes held each other, wordlessly, for what seemed like minutes, before Jinyoung's shifted to Mark's lips, which said, "Shall we go now?"
So, soon they were back on the way to their place.
That evening, they had the berries as their dinner. Afterwards, they sat around and talked. Yumi was the one who chattered the most; she was thinking out loud of the ways they could get out of there none of which sounded possible.
Night came, and when it was time for them to sleep, they occupied their own places which were in the order of Yumi's, Mark's and Jinyoung's. They were quite far away from each other, especially between Mark and Yumi.
Sleep did not come to Jinyoung as it had the other nights. His mind kept wandering back to that moment he and Mark had been lying down side by side, and then staring at each other.
He turned slowly so that he could see Mark, whose eyes were close, clearly seen under the moonlight. Jinyoung did not know how long he stayed awake, before he finally fell asleep.
But he woke up again, later, when the surrounding was still bathed in the moonlight. To his surprise, he found Mark lying close to him, not asleep but looking at him. And he felt Mark's fingers brushing against his cheek.
He gave Jinyoung neither a smile nor a word, nor did he withdraw his hand and himself. He was, interestedly, looking at Jinyoung and moving his fingers, in the slow rhythm, on Jinyoung's cheek.
The night was still and quiet, except for the sounds of insects, from several directions, while the two human beings, awake, continued to look at each other, wordlessly.
Then Mark lifted himself up a little and lowered himself down again, until his lips met Jinyoung's slightly parted ones. There was no shock on Jinyoung's part, but the new, unfamiliar feelings flooded through him, all in a rush. They were giving him the answer he had needed to, the explanation he had wished for, why he had always failed to carry out his confessions before. And it dawned on him that he was not someone who he had always thought of himself as. Yet there was no fear, but only satisfaction and contentment. Because in Mark's arms, he felt safe. He clung to Mark, more willingly, and tried, at his best, to show Mark that he felt the same.
