Refractive Errors

Chapter 8

The days seemed to blur together, Mark growing quieter and quieter, distancing himself from the others due to his own stress. He'd already taken it out on YoungJae and felt horrible the younger had looked absolutely broken. So, Mark disappeared, he'd spend most of his time in the smallest practice room he could find and work on rapping while dancing, he'd also practiced his tricks without a spotter and bruised up his sides and shoulder already, not that he would tell anyone. He had to make it, he had to do this, he had to prove that he wasn't just the pretty foreign kid they thought made the group more exotic. As he pulled away, the others grew weary.

Jackson hadn't seen the eldest in the dorm in weeks and his own insecurities had begun eating at him. BamBam had become increasingly skinnier, not able to eat without his eldest friend at the table to tell his stories to. JaeBeom had thrown himself into meetings, making sure he knew how to produce music as well as write lyrics, he was trying to stay useful, worried he would be dropped again. JinYoung had been working on his singing, wanting to get his stamina up he was accompanying YoungJae to the studio, working with the younger on his range. He didn't mind losing his voice and the scratchiness that he often woke up to, as long as YoungJae smiled. They were falling apart and it was obvious.

Their manager had meetings with each young man, trying to figure out the reason behind the sudden mood change. He was surprised it stemmed from the shy American boy. Finding the boy was difficult, he hadn't thought to look in the only practice room without an A/C or windows, but was glad that he had. Mark was dripping with sweat, his hair plastered to his face, and bags under his eyes. The younger had lost weight and was obviously in pain, his body swaying as he blinked at the lights in the room. Unsure how long Mark had been there, the manager knocked on the door and wasn't surprised when he didn't capture the male's attention the first time. It was clear to him Mark had been working too hard and hadn't been giving himself a break. His language tutor had mentioned the younger looking sick a few days ago, it wasn't very hard to see what he meant.

Walking further into the room, he finally captured the young man's attention. "What are you doing here?" He asked kindly, his arms ready to catch the male should he fall.

The quick bow and unsteady straightening of his spine spoke of his fatigue. "Manager-nim. I was just working on a that trick in Girls Girls Girls." He blinked rapidly before blinking. The manager taking all this in before, forcibly escorting the young man out of the room. "Manager-nim?" Mark asked, his body unconsciously leaning into the man.

"I'm taking you to the park, you need some fresh air and street food, you're much too skinny Mark-ah." He spoke softly, his face sympathetic to the wince he saw once they'd made it into the hallway where everyone seemed to be congregated. Mark didn't even fight, just hanging his head and allowing himself to be lead out of the building.

By the time they'd made it to the car, Mark was barely standing, his legs almost giving out on him several times. This worried the manager, he knew the younger needed to get home and to rest, but he was more focused on getting some color back to his usually tan face. Once in the car he wouldn't have to worry as much. He would concentrate on driving them to the park and getting some of the fattiest/greasiest food he could find into the American. Hopefully, his young friend would be there to cheer the boy up, if not, that was okay. He would get the male home and in bed. He nodded to himself, deciding the best action would be to keep all of this a secret from his boss. The last thing he needed was JYP hearing about the kind act he'd provided to a trainee,  even if they had a tentative debut date.

"Alright, I'm going to help you to the bench closest to the food stalls and get you food. Any preferences?" He asked, looking at the passenger seat to find the younger asleep. He knew the smile on his face was incredibly soft, but he couldn't help it. The younger looked so peaceful and small curled up on the seat he way he was. His face smoothed and free of stress, his breathing even, and his hair drying in the afternoon light, mixed with the car's A/C. Giving a reluctant shake to the boy's shoulder he felt bad about the slow blinks and sad pout that greeted him. "I'm sorry Mark-ah, but I need you awake so you can eat. Come on." He got out of the car, waiting for the other to wake up a little before the two walked, the older once again holding up most of his weight, to the shaded bench.

Settling him in, he checked once more that Mark was okay before walking away. He bought tteobokki, mandu, gukhwa-ppang, and some soondae. He didn't know if this would be too heavy on the boy's stomach, but he hoped it would make up for the meals he'd clearly missed. Turning around he found the bench had gained two other occupants. It was obvious that Mark had been situated in the middle, his lean frame almost hidden under the man on his left. The boy that sat to his right was leaning his head back on the bench, words tumbling from his mouth. It was a very intimate scene that he hated having to break up.