Letter 2 U

Part 33 - The beach

When he finished his shower, Mark hurriedly got dressed, brushed his teeth, changed the bed sheets and once again eyed the tray on the nightstand in dismal. He didn't feel like eating, he felt disgusted by the simply idea of putting anything in his mouth. Since yesterday, when Jinyoung refused to have lunch with the group in the lodging, the elder had completely lost his appetite. He knew he should eat something but even the pancakes prepared by the singer made his stomach turn. Mark then decided to pay a visit to Youngjae's room bringing the tray with him.

"Are you awake?" Mark entered his dongsaeng's room without ceremony. He knew Youngjae was pretending to sleep, so he didn't bother to knock. He was always like that whenever he was mad at someone, pretending to be dead.

"Where's he? Did he send you here to plead his case?" Youngjae pouted as he turned to Mark, who had already sat on the edge of his bed and put the tray on the floor before the other could notice it.

"Look, I know the date was awful. He didn't wanna tell me exactly why, but JB is clearly devastated. Yesterday night he was drinking, today he just went out with the kids. Can you imagine that? If he's hanging out with Bam and Yuggie, as loud as they are in the morning, he's really not being his usual self." Mark commented, trying to complete his good deed. He'd put all his energy into the reconciliation of that couple.

"He's running away, that's what he's doing, that's all he does! And I'm tired of his dubious behavior. My heart can't handle it anymore!" The younger complained, as his hyung raised an eyebrow at him.

"You guys went to a park called Jeju Loveland, for Christ sake what could've gone wrong?" he asked curiously as the younger made a face at him.

"Some people recognized us at the park and they started asking questions about that rooftop video. You should have seen him! He said horrible things! Like how disgusting it was to watch people pairing him with someone he considered a little brother and how he'd never touch a man like that! He sounded genuinely like a small-minded heterosexual bigot! He looked so convincing acting like a detestable homophobic dick that now I'm really not sure if he's not one!" Youngjae whined, as his eyes started to water.

"What did you expect him to do, huh? Come out in front of everyone, just like that? Jae, he was just protecting your and his image! This scandal can really ruin both of your careers. Don't be silly, he loves you more than anything. It's obvious he would deny your relationship in front of a bunch of strangers. That was the right thing to do, silly." Mark asserted pinching his wet cheeks, hoping his dongsaeng would calm down.

"Did he tell you that?" Youngjae whimpered, almost convinced by Mark's words.

"He did better than that! Before he left with the kids, he asked me to bring you this. Listen, he really needs your forgiveness and you'd be a fool not to accept it." Mark exclaimed as he picked up the untouched breakfast tray from the floor and put it next to Youngjae's feet. The other sat up on the bed immediately and suddenly a big smile adorned his features. Mark loved to see Got7's otter with that bright expression etched on his face. He felt satisfied for making someone happy. Lately he could only bring pain to those around him. Seeing how Jae enthusiastically chewed on his sandwich gave him a warm feeling inside. What if he had beat up a guy pretty bad the other night? He was being a good hyung now, advising and feeding his dongsaeng the best way he could.

"Well, I'd be an idiot if I didn't accept his apologies after this, right? Wow, breakfast in bed, that's another level for him. I bet he was too embarrassed to bring this himself." Youngjae commented excitedly, still smiling at the supposed surprise.

"Actually, I wasn't allowed to tell you he was the one who made it. And you won't mention that to him, okay? Just pretend it was my idea and that I never told you anything about it. He didn't want you to think that he could buy your forgiveness with food. He just doesn't want you to neglect your daily meals because of what happened yesterday." Mark lied again, wondering if it was remorse that was driving him to make up all that story. However, he wasn't really sure if he regretted sleeping with the leader. Unexpectedly, since the incident with Kwon, guilt was not a feeling plaguing Mark's mind anymore. No matter how unscrupulous he acted, he couldn't bring himself to feel bad about it.