Letter 2 U

Part 34 - The trance

As soon as the two arrived, Youngjae, Bambam and Yugyeom ran in their direction. Jinyoung briefly answered their worried questions regarding what happened on the beach without giving them much details about the real reason of his fight with Mark.

"Is he in the bedroom with Jaebeom? Jackson asked as soon as he noticed the absence of the two oldest members of Got7 in the living room.

"No. They left after your call. As soon as Mark heard that Jinyoung was all right, he said he couldn't stay here anymore and packed his stuff. We weren't able to convince him to stay, so JB insisted to accompany him to the nearest hotel. He said he would let us know where they are as soon as they checked in." Bambam informed with a disheartened expression on his face. Jackson wished could console his young friend like in the old days. But he knew things had changed between them.

"I'm sure JB will stay with him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Our leader knows what to do, let's just trust him." Yugyeom tried to cheer up his friend, but he also felt extremely impotent. He knew Mark wasn't well and he didn't know how to help his favorite hyung.

"Let's wait for JB's call, then. He's in good hands, kids. Mark will come back to us when he's ready." Jinyoung tried his best to comfort the youngsters, but he himself felt like crying his eyes out.

"Hey, guys, let's have lunch. I saw a very nice BBQ restaurant not very far from here. It's already 2PM and you guys look like you haven't eaten yet. It's on me, let's go." Jackson announced casually. He was the hyung in there and he felt obliged to act like a responsible one in that occasion, even if the others dismissed his efforts.

"We are waiting for JB's call, remember? Who will be able to eat anything without them here? And why would we join you?" Yugyeom retorted a bit annoyed.

"I agree with Jackson. An empty sack cannot stand upright. We should grab our cellphones and go with him. If any of them call, we'll be able to communicate with them and decide what to do next. We ought to be strong for Mark when he comes back. I'm sure he'll blame himself if he finds out we've skipped lunch because of him." Jinyoung commented, surprising everyone in the room. They never expected to hear those words from the singer, since he couldn't even stand being around the rapper lately. They had no idea how Jinyoung was devastated. He was still striving to register Jackson's words, that dreadful possibility still haunted his mind. He didn't want to believe that Mark was capable of hurting a human being so terribly, but he couldn't ignore the conspicuous guilt on Mark's expression earlier. He was still too numb to feel anger towards the Chinese.

"If that's okay with you, then I guess we can go out and mercilessly spend his money, since he's offering." Bambam's tone was lighter as he swiftly glanced at Jackson.

"I'm coming too." Youngjae whispered without much energy.

"All right! Lead the way, Wang. We are all obviously too messed up to accept your suggestion. But remember, this doesn't change anything. This is just a freaking lunch we're gonna have together. We are not your friends and nothing will be like it was before. You are not one of us." Yugyeom stated firmly as he opened the front door and signaled the Chinese to walk ahead of them. Jackson swallowed hard those words and nodded at the fierce maknae. The four members followed him when he walked out of the lodging, but none of the dared to talk to him.

Not very far from the restaurant they decided to stay, Mark and JB checked in a spacious hotel room. The elder was quietly sitting on the bed while Jaebeom patted his back.

"I myself even felt like hitting Jinyoung sometimes. He can be very annoying when he wants to. Don't beat yourself up, hyung. Jackson said he was just unconscious, remember? You can't kill someone with a simple punch. I don't know what he said to you and it's not really my business, but it's not the end of the world. Let's just go back there. You guys can talk again and you just have to say you're sorry. He loves you." JB assured him, trying his best to get some reaction from the silent American. They were like that for almost half an hour. The leader was getting worried. He didn't even remember to call the other members. Mark looked catatonic as soon as they entered that room and he knew he had to do something fast. Jaebeom wasn't sure of what to do, but he was willing to do whatever was necessary to break Mark out of that trance. Then he took of his top, hoping to get a reaction from the other, but he still didn't move. He removed his shorts and stood in front of Mark only in his boxers. He turned on the TV, he made jokes, he danced, he sang, he made ageyo poses and even touched himself a bit. However, Mark's faraway look remained the same. JB felt like crying. He was genuinely scared for the American.