Mark met up with Jaebum near the fountain in the middle of the campus. He had invited the other out to get his mind off of Jackson, but the entire time he was preparing, he couldn't get his roommate out of his head.
"Okay, so what do you wanna do?" Jaebeom asked a few moments after they greeted one another, the atmosphere around them still slightly awkward.
Mark shrugged in response. "Uh, y'know... just walk around I guess."
Jaebeom frowned as if that were an odd thing to do, as he probably thought Mark had something more specific in mind considering how last minute the invitation to hang out was. "Okay..."
The elder found himself looking around elsewhere more than talking with Jaebeom. Part of him thought that maybe Jackson would be somewhere nearby, and if they walked around campus, he'd eventually end up running into his roommate and the thief that stole him.
Not that Mark cared too much, he was just simply curious as to what the two may be up to. "Do you know where Jinyoung is?"
Jaebum glanced over at him, humming in thought before answering. "He's out getting some breakfast. Why?"
"Just... curious. Where'd he go?" Mark questioned in hopes of getting a specific location that him and Jaebeom could hang around. He wasn't trying to spy or stalk Jackson and Jinyoung or anything, he was just curious as to what the two were doing together all the time. What made them always wanna hang out together? What made them like one another so much?
"He doesn't tell me specifics, as it isn't my business." Jaebeom replied, his brows knitting together at the constant questioning. "Why does he concern you, got a crush on him or something?"
"Absolutely not." Mark spat, as if the mere suggestion of it was insulting.
"Then why are you asking so much?" Jaebeom cocked his head as rearguard the elder under his suspicious gaze. "Your mind seems elsewhere. You wanted to hang out but, it doesn't seem like you're really into it. What's up?"
Mark wished Jaebeom would stop being so intrusive and just quietly followed him along. Despite it being slightly awkward between them, Mark still just wanted to try and think about anything else other than Jackson, and apparently he was failing pretty bad at it. "Just-"
The elder cut himself off when his eyes landed on two figures walking closely in the distance. They had brown paper bags in hand, probably filled with food, while wearing big grins on their faces. Mark's chest tightened as he watched Jackson throw an arm around Jinyoung while the younger ruffled his hair in return.
He had stopped mid-walk, not even hearing Jaebeom ask him 'what's wrong?', he was too focused on the pair that seemed way too friendly and definitely too touchy. Mark took in a sharp breath as Jackson's eyes suddenly darted over to him, the two locking gazes for a brief moment.
Before Jackson's face could even morph into confusion as to why the elder was out of the dorms so early, Mark reached for Jaebeom's wrist in a panic and tugged him close.
"Jaebeom you're so ridiculous!" Mark yelled with obnoxiously loud laughter following. He couldn't be caught paying so close attention to Jackson or else the younger would never let him live it down.
He didn't even care much about Jackson anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.
Though Jaebeom wasn't exactly helping make Mark look sane, as he only gave the elder a puzzled look while he laughed. "You... okay?"
"I'm fine!" Mark replied while clapping the younger on the shoulder, quickly glancing back in Jackson's direction and catching his gaze yet again. Jinyoung was still smiling as they walked, but Jackson's smile had faltered. Mark turned his attention back to Jaebum, tugging him along away from the other pair. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."
