Love Game

Chapter 21

Jinyoung was with his parents at the entrance of the house.

The couple, Jinyoung noted, was elegant, with smiles stable on their faces since getting out of the car.

Just when Jinyoung was observing them, another door opened from the back seat, revealing someone he hadn't expected at all.

"This is the first time we've seen your son. Oh, he is a handsome one."

Mrs Park said, welcoming the guests.

"My name is Mark Tuan. Pleased to meet you, Mrs Park," said Mark, slightly bowing.

"Oh, call me aunty. It's okay."

The outside was quite dark and Jinyoung was thankful that he wasn't called attention to yet.

When they were inside, under the bright light, Mark saw him and slipped "Jinyoung" from his lips in surprise. Mark hadn't been observing the surrounding and only realised now that they were in Jinyoung's house.

"You know each other?" Mrs Tuan asked her son and Jinyoung.

"Yes" "No"

Their parents were confused.

"No" "Yes"

It was even worse now.

"I mean we know each other, but we're not in the same class," said Jinyoung, quite awkwardly.

"I also meant like that," followed Mark.

"Good. Now all of us are not strangers. Let's move on to the dining room," said Mr Park, leading in front, with Mr Tuan beside him.

Mark and Jinyoung were in the back. Mark stole a glance at Jinyoung, who refused to look at Mark's way.

Jinyoung realised now why that dinner seemed so special to his parents. He remembered about the merger discussed at the party quite long ago.

They seated in the order: the two men at the left side, the two women in the middle and the two young men at the right side.

At the dinner, there was some conversation but not much.

It was a nice dinner, everyone must have noted, except for Mark and Jinyoung.

Jinyoung attended to his meal only and Mark took occasional glances at Jinyoung, but not too obvious.

It was a long dinner for them.

Mark's mind wandered to the time Jinyoung made a kimchi stew dish for them in this very room.

At that time, it was only him and Jinyoung.

After the dinner, the guests were served dessert in the living room.

There were three sofas there; and when the parents occupied two, which were opposite to one another, there was no choice for Mark and Jinyoung but to seat on the one left.

The conversation started with business again, and obviously the two were left out.

Mark thought of anything to say but had no idea; and he was now upset by the fact that Jinyoung was still refusing to look at him.

After a while, Jinyoung's mother looked at their way and thought that they were bored with the business conversations.

"Jinyoung, why don't you show your friend around in the yard? It's a perfect night. Go outside and take a walk there."

It was a reasonable advice and Jinyoung had no room to refuse that.

"We'll be outside for a while," Jinyoung bowed towards the Tuans and led Mark outside.

As soon as they were outside, the tension between them got higher, no one knowing what to say.

"Come to think of it, I haven't been here in the yard at night. This is a beautiful place to be out at night," said Mark, thinking of the last time Jinyoung fell asleep on his shoulder in the living room.

Mark was commenting on the place, and Jinyoung had very little mind for that.

Jinyoung led Mark to a wooden bench in a circle shape nearby.

They sat down together, and Jinyoung shivered a little when the night wind passed them.

"Are you cold?" asked Mark, already taking off his coat and putting it on Jinyoung.

"What about you?"

"I'm okay. I'm in long sleeves."

Jinyoung looked at Mark, in a silk shirt now.

Jinyoung should have refused but also knew that Mark was going to insist nonetheless.

"How have you been these days?" asked Mark.

"I'm doing fine."

It was totally a lie, but Jinyoung didn't care.

"Does he still disturb you?"

"Who? Oh, Lee? No, he doesn't. He's not a very bad guy like you think," said Jinyoung casually because he knew Lee well and that was true.

Without him realising, an expression of pain crossed Mark's face.

'Is Jinyoung defending someone else in front of him?'

Silence fell again and no one bothered to break.

"I'm sorry," Mark uttered.

"Why?"

"I was so selfish."

"It's okay."

"I shouldn't have rejected you just like that."

"Please, don't bring everything up again. I'm trying to forget everything. I don't know but I'm trying."

'What does Jinyoung mean by that?'

"You mean-?" asked Mark.

Jinyoung looked at him.

"What do you mean by 'you mean'? I meant, of course, I'm trying to forget everything between us. That's what you want, isn't it?"

'No, you're not supposed to. You're to love me still.'

Mark couldn't bear the thought of himself disappearing from Jinyoung's memory and heart.

He was a selfish jerk. If someone said that to him, he could accept that; he could accept everything but he couldn't stand the thought of losing Jinyoung. Now he realised that.

"Please, forgive me, Jinyoung ah. There are," Mark paused, "There are things I can't tell you about."

Mark didn't know how Jinyoung would understand that.

The younger was silent for a while.

Mark scooted closer to Jinyoung, and to the latter's surprise, embraced him in his arms.

Jinyoung didn't question him anything though.

Now there was only one thing very certain in Mark's mind, he could lose anything or even anyone, but Jinyoung.

They stayed still like that, feeling content with their body closeness. No words but it was a comfortable silence.

Under the starry sky, the night wind was teasing them, but little did they care. With the chilly wind, their bodies pressed closer against each other. At that moment, in this whole world, both Mark and Jinyoung felt that only two of them existed, and they were content with everything they were feeling now.