777 Ways

CHAPTER 42 - PARTNER

"Hey!" Youngjae said as soon as the American opened the door. Mark was obviously not happy to see him. They very sight of the publicist reminded him of Jaebeom, and as he thought of Jaebeom, he couldn't help but feel resentment towards Jinyoung. Four days had passed after the housewarming party at the youngsters' house, and since then, all Jinyoung and him did was argue. The writer still hadn't opened up about his night with JB, and Mark refused to tell his boyfriend what was really bothering him. The last fight they had, they were already throwing objects of the house at each other. It was late at night when it happened. They were in the bedroom and Mark wanted to have sex. Angry sex. The writer noticed that his boyfriend wasn't in the mood for a 'healthy lovemaking' so he refused him. The Korean sat up in the bed in shock when the older suddenly threw a lampshade against the wall as a response to his rejection. Jinyoung wasn't ready for another argument, so he called him a lunatic and walked out of the room. Mark followed him and threw a pillow at his head. Jinyoung threw it back. Mark dodged it, and recklessly yanked a picture from the hallway wall and aimed at the writer who was coming down the stairs. Jinyoung froze in the spot, when the object luckily flew past him. Mark saw the mortification in his boyfriend's eyes and tried to apologize, but the younger locked himself in his office and ignored the American for the rest of the night. The situation in general was becoming critical by the minute. Jinyoung started spending more time in his office, and the American more time at YugBam's apartment. Sometimes it was just less painful to be apart from each other. Bambam had tried to find out what was going on with the couple, but Mark was most of the time evasive, and Jinyoung didn't have all the answers the Thai was looking for, or at least, he didn't know he had them. Bambam still hadn't found a solution for the couple's intriguing and unidentified issues. Mark didn't think that anyone but Jinyoung could make things better again. He still waited for his boyfriend to have the decency to tell him what happened, and ask for his forgiveness.

"Are you lost or something?" Mark asked in an unfriendly tone, narrowing his eyes at the publicist.

"Is Jinyoung home?" The younger asked in a low tone.

"Yeah, his office. What is it that you want from him?" Mark asked, not really interested in playing the polite host.

"You don't have to be so discourteous-"

"Fuck that. Why are you here? I thought we weren't talking anymore." Mark spat. He clearly had no intention to invite the other in.

"I came to see Bam. But he's not home. Since I'm already in the building I decided to stop by." The publicist replied awkwardly.

"I don't see any reason why you should. Jin is usually busy at this hour, and I'm going out." Mark said coldly.

"Wanna grab lunch?" Youngjae asked abruptly. Mark sneered at him.

"Are you for real? Aren't you afraid that I might attack you or something?" The older raised an eyebrow at Youngjae and crossed his arms.

"I just wanna talk." Youngjae insisted.

"Not in the mood." Mark said apathetically.

"Look, I've been spying on my husband's cell phone since you told me about the aftermath of Nora's birthday party. I didn't want to believe you at first, so I didn't confront him, but now I saw proof." Youngjae lowered his head and sighed deeply.

"What do you mean you saw proof?" Mark's eyes widened considerably.

"You were right. They're cheating on us. They've been exchanging texts and intimate pictures since Jin came back from America." Youngjae clarified, becoming a little agitated.

"What?! Are you serious?" Mark's shock doubled. He thought that one single drunk night was the only thing that had happened between the two best friends. Jaebeom mentioned that they had fooled around during their college days, but that was over. That new information couldn't be true. Could the publicist be mistaken?