After breakfast, Mark did not know what to do. Sangchul had retired to his room and Jinyoung was already outside with the children. Mark approached Sangchul's room and found that the door was wide open and Sangchul was at his desk.
"Samchon, can I come in?"
"Of course, Mark, come on in." Sangchul left his desk and met Mark in the middle of the room. "What's the matter?"
"N-No. I just wanted to ask if I could do anything for you. Do you need any help? Or do you want a coffee or something?"
Sangchul chuckled with satisfaction, patting Mark's arm. "I'm just going over what was discussed at the last meeting. Why don't you go and help Jinyoung? I'm sure he'll appreciate it."
"I doubt that," Mark muttered under his breath. Jinyoung had given him a cold shoulder this morning although he had noticed Jinyoung had seemed less annoyed with him than before.
"It's about time you two got to know each other better. Ask him if you can do anything for him. Go."
Mark complied and left the room. Outside, the kids were playing the human train and it would have been a normal sight if not for Jinyoung, who was at the very front leading them and saying 'choo-choo-chug'. This guy really had a whole new side when it came to children.
Mark stood at the entrance and his presence disrupted the activity since Jinyoung had abruptly stopped. "Hey do you need anything? Samchon asked me to help you," Mark added the last information in case he looked desperate.
"No need. You'll just scare the children," Jinyoung claimed. "Why don't you go back in? You know, you watching us like that makes us uncomfortable."
Mark smirked knowingly. "I think it's just you who's uncomfortable. Look at the kids. They look curious about me. Hi!" He flashed his best smile at the children. "I'm a newbie here. Wanna play with me? We can play horse-ride, or soldiers. Or maybe, doctors and patients. Or-"
"Play thief?" Jinyoung snorted. "Hey leave!"
But his voice could not surpass several voices of the youngsters, who started arguing over which to play. It seemed they were really tired of playing the human train every morning. The boys were shouting, "Soldiers!" while the girls declared they would be doctors and Mark and the boys would be their patients. The human train was ruined and Jinyoung gave up because suddenly, he had lost his authority and the children's attention. It was Mark's now.
He had to admit though that Mark was good with kids. They were not afraid of him but listened to him all the same. Maybe, it was a good thing that Mark had interfered. Now Jinyoung could leave the children to Mark's hands for a while. He went back into the house and came back with the dog food.
"Byeol, come on! Your food's here. Come out. Don't be lazy." He rapped the bowl of dog food and soon a white and big Lab ran out of its house and straight to Jinyoung. He embraced it and welcomed its nuzzling and licks with a laugh.
"Okay. Okay, enough. Hey. Haha!" Jinyoung fell on his back as Byeol climbed onto his stomach and continued to lick his face. "Hey, you're hungry, aren't you? A moment. Get off me. Here. Here." He directed its face to the bowl and petted it while it started to have the food, eagerly. "Good, huh? Why don't you play with the kids anymore? Is it cold to be out?"
"Which breed?"
Jinyoung reacted with a jerk at the sudden voice. "Yah, can't you not creep behind and ask me all of a sudden like this? Aren't you supposed to be with the kids?"
"What, are you jealous that I've won their love?" Mark asked, teasingly.
"Pfft! Just wait for a few days and they'll get tired of you." Jinyoung took a glance at the children and found that the boys were pretending to be shooting each other with fake guns, i.e. their own hands, and the girls were playing the roles of doctors, nurses and patients.
