A Beautiful Butterfly

Chapter 26

Jinyoung wiped himself with a towel and put on a random T-shirt. The scent of the perfume Wonpil was spraying himself was floating around in the room. The doorbell rang suddenly.

Wonpil answered the door as Jinyoung was fixing his hair. It must be one of Wonpil's friends. It was quite inconvenient though since they were just about to go out.

"Oh, hi! Is Jinyoung here?"

What? Jinyoung was flabbergasted to hear the familiar voice. Why the hell was Mark here? Couldn't Mark leave him alone even at weekend?

"He's. You're?"

"Mark. Can I see him?"

Wonpil could not reply immediately because in front of him was the very Mark he had heard about a lot but never seen until now. He was already familiar with Mark through Jinyoung's narratives. And now that he met him, just at the first glance, Wonpil could see Mark seemed to be a good person, just as he had imagined.

"Oh, yes. Uh, we're just about to leave. But you can meet him of course. Come in."

But before Mark could enter, frustrated Jinyoung appeared and looked at Mark disapprovingly. "I don't think we have time for any guest now. Let him leave," Jinyoung said, addressing Wonpil, while his eyes were on Mark.

"It's not like we've an appointment or anything. Come in, Mark. We were just going to a cafe. But it can wait."

Jinyoung could not believe his ears. Wasn't his roommate supposed to be on his side? He could not decide whether Mark's uninvited presence or Wonpil's betrayal was more annoying.

"He doesn't seem to want me to come in," Mark said, smiling at Wonpil, "Can I join you to the cafe then?"

"No! You can't! Leave," Jinyoung demanded.

"Yah, Jinyoung, it's rude! You can, Mark. It's just around the corner." Wonpil rushed to grab both his and Jinyoung's wallets and phones, leaving the other two guys in a heated staring battle, one irritated and one persistent.

"Come on. Let's go." Wonpil draped an arm around Jinyoung's shoulder and tugged him, who moved grudgingly.

"I'm not going," Jinyoung stated, although he was already near the door, because of his roommate. He was pushed, stumbling and almost bumping against Mark, while Wonpil proceeded to lock the door. "What's wrong with you? Can't you be gentle?"

Wonpil just laughed. "Let's go."

It was a short walk. Along the way, Wonpil had to walk between Jinyoung and Mark and keep talking to prevent any tension. Jinyoung was in sullen silence and Mark could not help stealing glances at him.

Inside the cafe, Wonpil sat next to the wall, with Jinyoung beside him, and Mark was opposite them. Truth to be told, Mark felt envious of Wonpil, who Jinyoung was clinging to, because he wanted to be the one Jinyoung did to. But there were no hard feelings as he could clearly see what Jinyoung and Wonpil had was pure friendship.

"I've always wanted to meet you, Mark. You even went to Jinhae with Jinyoung. He never invites me," Wonpil said in enthusiasm, which made Jinyoung grimace, "You enjoyed there, didn't you?"

"It's a trip I won't ever forget. Does he talk a lot about me by the way?" Mark asked teasingly. He loved seeing Jinyoung acting like he was not at all interested in the conversation but all the same, was restless in his seat.

"Well, you can guess. From who else could I have heard much about you?"

Seriously, Wonpil was on another level today. Jinyoung felt his face heating up and desperately tried to bury this embarrassment under antagonism. He was annoyed, he reminded himself. Couldn't they find a topic that did not involve him? He wanted to wipe that victorious smile off Mark's face.

As if they had known each other for long, Mark and Wonpil could not stop talking. Later, Mark asked if he could invite his friends too as traffic was not so bad at weekends and it would not take them long to get here. Wonpil willingly agreed and Mark sent them quick texts.

Jinyoung felt out of place; all he could do was sipping his Americano and staring at other people going in and out of the cafe. He needed to have a serious talk with Wonpil once they were back at the dorm.

About twenty minutes later, Jaebum and Jackson arrived together. "Hey, Jinyoung! It's been a while! Hi, nice to meet you! Jinyoung's roommate?" Jackson said excitedly, as he and Jaebum took the seats next to Mark, who moved to the left side of the table, which allowed him to be close to Jinyoung.

"Wonpil. Nice to meet you too. You're?"

The introduction went on and soon a smooth conversation took place. This time it was Jackson and Jaebum who talked mostly with Wonpil, while Mark was distracted by Jinyoung's presence near him. But Jinyoung looked like he wanted to leave and it was a relief he had not yet.

"Do you come here often?" Mark asked, not much louder than a whisper. "Sorry for my sudden visit, I just had that strong urge to see you."

When there was no response, Mark's hand reached for Jinyoung's under the table to hold it. Of course, Jinyoung reacted with a jerk and yanked his hand away. Like it had pushed him over the edge, Jinyoung suddenly got up and received questioning glances from the three, who had been absorbed in their talk.

"I'm leaving," Jinyoung informed Wonpil curtly and grabbed his belongings. He went out before anyone could stop him but Mark was at his heels right afterwards.

"Jinyoung, stop! I'm sorry. I promise I won't touch you again. Let's go back in." But Jinyoung did not stop and continued walking. Faster so that Mark could not keep up with him.

He thought Mark would give up and returned to the cafe. But he was wrong. Mark was still on his tail even when he was on his way into the dorm. Even when he was in front of the room.

"Why're you here? Leave."

Jinyoung opened the door in a hurry and went in. But what he had not expected was Mark forcing his way into the room as well and closing the door behind.

"No. I won't. Don't you understand how much I missed you? Don't be so harsh to me, Jinyoung. I can't bear it. It hurts me."

"Then why're you being so persistent? Haven't I been showing I don't want you?" Jinyoung said, frustrated.

"No, you're just pretending that you don't. I know you still care about me. You do, Jinyoung, don't you?"

Mark gently pulled Jinyoung into his arms and held him firmly, despite how hard Jinyoung tried to free himself.

"You're wrong! Don't get ahead of yourself!"

Just at the end of those words, Mark turned Jinyoung's head to him and forced his lips against Jinyoung's. The lips met messily because of Jinyoung's resistance. They were already at the foot of the bed and Mark dropped them both onto it, hovering above Jinyoung and trying to desperately show how much he wanted Jinyoung, through his lips' merciless and yet caring movements.

So, it was what it felt like to be kissed by Mark. As if his entire being had been in another world. Life had been sucked out of his hands, which were supposed to be shoving Mark off but instead lay still, helplessly.

Once Mark's lips left his, however, the reality came back in and he yanked Mark away. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Mark panted slightly.

"You're awful. Get out."

"I couldn't stop myself." Mark reached for Jinyoung's hair but changed his mind and withdrew his hand. He did not want to anger Jinyoung more than now. "I'll go."

Still sitting on the bed and hugging his knees, Jinyoung watched Mark leave. He shifted his eyes away when Mark turned for a final glance before the door was closed.