Million Dollar Man (COMPLETED)

55. The Clown Prince of Crime and his jelly beans

(a/n another long chapter ahead~! Hope you enjoy reading!)

It was the Sunday and Mark knew perfectly well what that meant when he parked his car just outside Jinyoung's coffee shop. Today, Lian was going to go ape shit.

As Mark walked in the shop, he expected Lian sitting alone in one of the tables in the corner, a book under her nose and her hair tied up into a high bun, making her look more Chinese than usual. Her tan had disappeared now that she's spent almost a year away from sunny LA, her skin now turning back to its original skin tone which is milky and light. But as Mark walked closer, he noticed a bunch of furniture barricading Lian from the rest of the coffee shop and a hand stopping him from going any further.

"No one's allowed to cross the border," said the owner of the hand that was blocking his way.

Mark turned his head to see Jackson staring up at him with a serious look on his face. Beside him, Youngjae nodded as he sipped from his smoothie. "You can't be seriou—"

"She can't be disturbed right now, man, sorry. Best friend or not, rules are rules." Jackson said with finality.

Mark's eyebrows raised in disbelief, then an amused smile slipped on his lips. "Fight me."

"Okay then," Jackson, a man with honor, got up and readied his stance for a fight—like it was the most natural thing for them, like they were at the gym.

Lian finally looked up from her book and narrowed her eyes at her idiot boyfriend and her idiot best friend. "Quit it, you two. Jackson, just let him pass."

Jackson's head whipped his head towards her so fast, "But, Li!"

Before Lian could even answer, Mark was already at it, shoving Jackson to the side and moving a chair from the barricade for him to pass through.

"Take it easy, babe," Mark said as he greeted Lian with a kiss on the cheek.

Lian looked up and glared at him.

Mark shot his hands up in surrender. "I mean, don't take it easy... Go hard," he said with a supportive smile.

Lian's glare dissolved and her lips formed into a crescent. "Do or die."

"You know it." Mark said, tapping Lian's nose with his pinky finger.

"Okay, out." She said with a giggle, pointing her pencil to where she wanted Mark to go, to Jackson and Youngjae's table. "You're only going to distract me. Go."

Mark chuckled and nodded. He got up, squished her cheeks together and left without another word.

When he got to the boys' table, Jackson was blowing bubbles with his saliva and Youngjae was playing Fifa on his phone. Mark sat across Jackson with an amazed look on his face.

"What?" Jackson spat—like literally—on Mark's face.

"Ew," the other boy said as he wiped Jackson's spit away with a napkin. "How'd she get you to shut up like that?"

Youngjae looked up from his phone. "Lian promised no harm would come to Jackson hyung if he stayed put while she studied."

Mark laughed, "You scared of Lian now?"

Jackson shrugged, then his eyes suddenly lit up as if remembering something very important. "You heard about Kris opening a new club?"

Mark shook his head. "I stayed out of that scene since... since..." since Lian disappeared on me, Mark wanted to say, but there was no sense bringing up that particularly painful memory. So instead he said, "You know what happened, bro."