A Beautiful Butterfly

Chapter 8

The following days were not much special. But Jinyoung had got more comfortable with Mark, who always bothered to talk to him whenever there was a chance. He also noticed that Mark's friends no longer sent distasteful glances his way, which he was not sure why exactly. But he knew it must be due to Mark.

He did not understand Mark's friends' change. Until that day. It was at the lunch break and he was at a table in the restaurant he usually ate at. As usual, alone.

When he was about to dig into his lunch, his attention was caught by the three figures entering the restaurant. Mark, Jackson and Jaebum. To be more precise, they were coming to where he was.

"Can we sit here?" Mark asked, his warm voice never failing to flutter Jinyoung's heart. Yet, the presence of Mark's friends made him nervous.

When Jinyoung nodded, Mark and Jaebum took the seats while Jackson went to the counter to order food.

"Jinyoung, you know my friends?"

Jinyoung nodded again, risking a glance at Jaebum, who was sitting opposite him. Jaebum looked kind of uncomfortable, shifting his eyes between Mark and Jinyoung.

"Jaebum," Mark said.

"Hi, my name's Jaebum. Nice to meet you, Jinyoung," Jaebum made an attempt at a smile, which looked awkward. He then turned to Mark, who was looking at him, expectantly.

Just then Jackson was back at the table and having no choice, he had to sit down beside Jinyoung. He and Jaebum exchanged glances.

"I've introduced myself. Your turn," Jaebum told him. Jaebum looked a little relieved now that he was not going alone through this ordeal.

"Ah, well, I guess we already know each other, don't we? I'm Jackson and you're Jinyoung."

Jinyoung looked at Mark for an explanation, because he had no idea of what exactly was going on. What was with these introductions?

Apparently, Mark understood his confusion because he said to his friends, "Don't stop there. Go on. You know why you two are here."

"You start?" Jackson mumbled, addressing Jaebum, who shook his head.

"Jackson, you say first. You should. You were worse then Jaebum," Mark said.

Jackson cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, Jinyoung, for everything I've done to you. Jaebum and I, we were a little too much. Will you forgive me? Forgive us?"

"Just like he said," Jaebum joined, "I'm sorry too. We won't do anything like that again. Mark's friend is also our friend. Will you forgive us?"

Jinyoung wordlessly stared at Jaebum and then at Jackson, before turning to Mark, who offered him a smile. Mark's friends' apologies were something Jinyoung should be grateful for because now he no longer needed to worry about him possibly destroying Mark's friendship with them. They were even suggesting that he became their friend as well.

"Jinyoung, what do you say?" Mark asked, sounding a little anxious, probably because of Jinyoung's silence.

"I forgive them," Jinyoung said, finding it still strange to address Jaebum and Jackson directly. They looked genuinely relieved and the tension was clearly lessened.

"Thank you, Jinyoung," Jaebum said and Jackson nodded in agreement. "I knew you'd forgive us. I mean you look gentle and kind."

"So, there's no more bad blood between us, buddy?" Jackson said, slinging one hand around Jinyoung's shoulder, which made Jinyoung flinch. This sudden show of friendliness was something Jinyoung had not expected. "Oh, our food's here!"

The waiter placed the ordered dishes and drinks on the table before moving away. Jinyoung was relieved Jackson's hand was finally off his shoulder and he could now eat his lunch again.

Before anything, he stole a glance at Mark, who had been watching their interactions with a proud smile. That day, for the first time since he had been in this university, he had a lunch with those who were different from him but nonetheless, were trying to get to know him.

In the afternoon, Mark walked with Jinyoung. It was becoming like a routine and Jinyoung was beginning to fear he was getting used to it too much.

"I'm sorry my friends were a little noisy today," Mark said and chuckled afterwards.

"Why did they change? So suddenly?" That was what Jinyoung had been wanting to ask since that lunch break. But he had been awkward and did not want to ask them.

"Actually, I talked about you to them a lot. You don't mind, do you?"

Jinyoung shook his head and Mark continued, "At first, they didn't want to listen. But I kept mentioning you and talked about why you're here, how you've grown up and things like that. By and by, they've come to understand you, I think."

It felt great to learn that Mark cared for him that much. Jinyoung smiled, with elation that flew deep into him.

"Thank you, Mark," Jinyoung said.

"Actually, you do deserve their apologies. What do you think of them? They were friendly?"

"Yeah, a little bit too friendly," Jinyoung said, sheepishly.

Mark laughed heartily and nodded in agreement. "Especially Jackson, right? You'll get used to it. He just goes a little extra when he's getting to know someone."

Jinyoung looked around, remembering Mark would have to stop at the car park. But seemed like they had already passed by it.

"My car's still at the repair shop," Mark answered, sensing what Jinyoung was going to ask. "But I told them they must finish by Friday. Don't worry, I'll have my car on Saturday."

Oh, that amusement park! Jinyoung would not have minded, honestly, even if they would have to take a bus on that day. Just the thought of that coming day, made him feel certain and uncertain at the same time. Certain because he was, for sure, going to like spending time with Mark. But uncertain because what if Mark found his lack of experience frustrating or worse, him boring? After all, Jinyoung had never been to such places.