Growing

Chapter 8

Mark:

I had learnt many things while working in Hakyeon's cafe. I knew how to prepare several kinds of coffees, teas and milkshakes and how to arrange the cakes in the glass display next to the counter.

I had learnt to carry more than two trays at the same time without dropping something and how I was able to recognize if a customer was going to call for me before they actually did it.

I had also found out that the cafe had several regular customers who came over at certain times during the week and usually ordered the same. Of course, I was also able to spot familiar faces today.

Zhang Yixing and Lu Han visited the cafe every Wednesday afternoon around 4.30. They would order a black coffee for Yixing, a latte with vanilla for Lu Han and a big piece of cheese cake with two forks.

Tao had once told me that they had already been the best and closest friends before he had even known them because they had arrived in Seoul at the same day, neither of them speaking Korean back then.

I didn't know much about the two Chinese students except of a few general things that I had heard somewhere but I had seen them in the cafe often enough to notice that something was different today.

Their hands were laying on the table, their fingers intertwined and Lu Han had a bright red hickey on his neck, a clear sign of possessiveness. Yixing wanted the people to see that the other belonged to him.

They still talked like best friends but the way they looked at each other was obvious. The two older males were dating. I couldn't judge it that good but it seemed like they fitted each other perfectly.

Watching Yixing and Lu Han made sitting together and flirting like there was no tomorrow made me realize how much my relationship with Jackson had changed during the last weeks.

Those changes weren't big and they had happened slowly. I hadn't noticed something when it was actually happening but now it seemed like the majority of things wasn't like they used to be at the beginning.

When we had started dating we had always walked through the park. One of my hands had pushed Lily's stroller, the other had held Jackson's hand. Nowadays we were rarely holding hands anywhere.

We also didn't show another that much affection anymore. We didn't cuddle while watching a movie or hugged the other while sleeping or just laying in bed. Even our regular kisses had changed to short pecks.

I didn't know why all of this had started to happen. It actually didn't feel like we didn't love each other anymore. I was sure that there was an explanation for the changes in our relationship.

Maybe we were just too busy with school and work, maybe we were just used to the other being there and didn't feel the need to do something for it anymore or maybe it had just been a matter of time.

I knew that it would be a good idea to think of a solution for our problem before the distance between us got even bigger. The best idea was to wait for Jackson to come back and tell him about my feelings.

I sighed lightly and took my phone out of my jeans pocket, kinda hoping that Jackson had called or texted me. But nothing. I put my phone away again. He was probably too busy and would text me later.

"Trouble with your boyfriend?" A voice behind me suddenly asked, making me flinch. I turned around and looked at Taekwoon who leaned against the wall. He always managed it to appear and disappear out of nowhere.

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled lightly. "Not exactly." I answered, thinking about asking Hakyeon's boyfriend for advice. "Can I ask you something?" I asked the other male who raised his eyebrows.

He seemed a little surprised by my question but nodded. "Sure, go ahead." He said calmly. "Have you ever had the feeling that the spark between you and Hakyeon has disappeared?" I looked at him.

Taekwoon seemed to think for a moment before he nodded slowly. "Sometimes, yes. When he opened the cafe three years ago, he was very busy and I got the feeling that there was a distance between me and him."

"He spent a lot of time here and we didn't talk as much as we used to. We didn't even kiss anymore. On some days, I feared that we would completely drift apart from each other." The elder explained.

"And what did you do?" I leaned against the counter and looked at him. Taekwoon smiled minimally. "I secretly cancelled all his schedules for a weekend and took him to a trip to the beach." He told me.

"We talked for hours and he even cried when I told him about my feelings because he felt bad for not noticing. I held him in my arms and in the end the both of us cried." The elder chuckled.

"We opened our heart to the other and it brought us much closer. And if one of us ever gets such a feeling again, we'll talk about it immediately." He ended and I had to admit that I was impressed.

I had never expected that someone like Taekwoon would put so much effort in rescuing his relationship. But it seemed like his usually cold and expressionless facade hid more than people would think.

His advice was very helpful although there was one small point that made me a little unsure. "You know that I can't effort a weekend at the beach, right?" I asked what caused him to chuckle for a short moment.

"You don't necessarily have to take him to the beach. It will be enough to leave your phones at home and take a walk. Just take him somewhere where nothing distracts you from talking." He told me.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you for your advice. It helped me a lot." I said and gave him a friendly smile which returned for a brief moment. "No problem." Taekwoon answered.

I was still a little bit worried that we would live apart completely but the elder's advice gave me the hope that everything could be alright again if we took some time to talk about our problems.

The emotional and partly physical distance between me and Jackson probably wasn't even a dramatic problem but if our relationship ever ended, I wouldn't want it to happen like that.

Of course, I didn't want it to end but there was always a tiny chance that it was too late for us to rescue anything. But I didn't want to focus on possible negative results. I wanted to be hopeful and optimistic.

As long as I was still able to see the spark in Jackson's eyes when we were together, nothing would be lost. Just because we were a little distant at the moment didn't mean that our love had disappeared.

It wouldn't need much to do something. We only needed some time and no matter how much time we would need in the end, I would never give Jackson and our relationship up without a fight.

-

New chapter! I know the majority of you has probably waited for a Markson chapter but I felt like writing something more thoughtful instead.

I've also chosen to include some Layhan so please don't hate or make fun of it.

I've recently listened to Yixing's "Peach" which is about a nice ass. And Lu Han has a song called "Lu" which is basically about a blow job. It's actually interesting that both of them have such a kind of song. Maybe it's their way of complimenting each other 🤔 Yixing's telling Lu Han he's got a nice butt and Lu Han's telling Yixing he's good at giving blow jobs 👀 (It's just a joke so don't take it seriously. And btw Yixing's a top. No one can convince me otherwise)

Anyway back to the story:

What will happen now? Will Mark and Jackson talk? Is their relationship really in danger? Will they break up or will everything be alright? What does Jackson think?

Thanks for reading & 16k reads 💙

PLEASE READ MY NEW STORY "THE REAL ME"