Arcadia 11

One

Mark Tuan was tired. They had just finished an intense morning of MV shooting, in which he couldn't seem to land his jump. It was eventually decided they would have to come back and finish it the next day, and that had caused a lot of reshuffling to the already busy schedules. They'd been going non-stop trying to film as much as they could before Jackson, Jaebum, and Jinyoung began working on separate projects next month. To say they were all stressed would be an understatement.

Letting out a deep sigh, he rested his pounding head against the cool window. He closed his eyes in the hopes of getting some rest before they went to an interview about their latest album. At first, Mark had been proud of the work they'd put into making this album, many sleepless nights, coffee runs, and stress-induced fights; went into making this what it was. However as they'd been practicing, filming, and talking about it, that excitement had started to dwindle. Now he couldn't get the looks of disappointment from his members out of his head, since he hadn't been his best at practice, he'd delayed filming, and his shy personality had held him back from talking about his work too much. Although no one said anything to the eldest, he could tell they weren't happy about the added work he'd thrown onto them. On days like this he really started to question whether or not he's cut out for the celebrity lifestyle. 

"Hyung." Someone's soothing rasp cut through his thoughts. Eyes flying wide open to stare ahead. The pounding in his head twice as harsh as before, all while he tried to orient himself. Wildly looking around wanting to figure out who spoke, there was no one else in the van in front of him, turning to see that Jackson Wang was next to him. The younger was someone Mark had quickly become attached to, his "at-home" personality much different than the one he presented to the public. Mark got lost in his thoughts about Jackson's friendship and how great he was as a roommate not realizing the other had been speaking. "Hyung, we're here. You need to get out of the van before the Noonas come. I could help you out if you'd like." Jackson repeated, eyebrows furrowing as he looked at his friend, just now noticing how thin he'd become, how his hair didn't hold it's usual shine, and the deep seeded exhaustion that weighed down his shoulders.

Mark just continued to stare at him with wide eyes, empty of any emotion, almost like he was there but not actually conscious of his surroundings. Reaching up, Jackson gently tapped the older's cheek, but all he received in return was a whine. Mark's hand reached up to rub at his eyes in that adorable tired baby way all the guys secretly love. 

"No, hyung you can't do that." The younger said softly, wrapping his hand around his friend's wrist to pull it away, handling the wrist with the utmost care and fragility. "You're wearing make-up remember." 

This time the response he got were flushed cheeks and a shy, "Sorry." which normally he would coo at and tease, but their Noona, Chan-Hee, decided to ruin the soft atmosphere.

"What the hell are you still doing out here!" She shrieked, looking around to check for fans, before grabbing Jackson, none too gently, and yanking him out of the car. By the time she'd started reaching for Mark, he seemed to come back to his senses and had followed the Chinese male out and onto the sidewalk. "I can't with you guys today, you're really starting to get on my nerves Mark." She cursed while pulling both boys inside the dressing room, dumping Jackson into a chair and roughly pulling Mark along, not caring if her grip would leave bruises. 

When she finally let go, Chan-Hee unceremoniously shoved him, making his shoulder collide with the wall causing a loud thump to echo in his head. Mark had been silently listening to her harsh words, not uttering a sound as his thoughts from earlier were added upon by his usually level-headed and kind Noona. She began aggressively throwing clothing at him, muttering angrily about what a waste of time this was and how she couldn't believe she'd been stuck babysitting Mark when it was her day to work with Youngjae, not caring that Mark could clearly hear every word, and that each syllable muttered in annoyance, felt like a rock being added to the weight in his stomach.