Jaebeom is a perfectionist who has a decent English vocabulary but refuses to speak to anyone, as he knows his accent and skills are not perfect. He is challenged to by the CEO of JYP Entertainment to go to the States for specialty English Language...
Warning: Some suggestive mature content towards the end.
⊱ ♫ ────── ⋆Jaebeom⋆ ────── ♫ ⊰
As we emerged from the stairwell on to the roof top deck, Sharay and I were greeted by her mom, brother, and the rest of GOT7.
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"I'm so sorry" was the repeated refrain from each of the guys, over speaking one another in an attempt to assure Sharay they hadn't meant any harm.
The only silent one was Mark, who at first stood to the side with his head lowered. He peeked up from under his hat with a furtive glance, licking his lips in a nervous fashion.
"Jaebeom. Sharay," he finally said as the others began to quiet down. "It's my fault. I convinced the others to say they didn't all agree. I was still pissed off about how you treated Jackson. I'm not making excuses." He directed this last part at me.
"Jaebeom-ah. I was so wrong. I should've let it go when Jackson said he was good with it."
Turning towards Sharay, Mark continued."I had no idea you would be so selfless. I had no idea anyone could be so selfless. I'm ashamed that I did what I did when you were willing to sacrifice so much for the benefit of Jaebeom, GOT7, and me. I...."
Mark hadn't spoken so many words in one time frame in all the years I'd known him. I was mildly impressed, despite the hurt he had caused, that he was able to take such a strong stance in defense of Jackson and take responsibility for it. I wasn't in a position to judge his emotional reaction in light of my earlier very inappropriate response to Jackson, but he had hurt my girl so I was still feeling very raw and didn't trust myself to comment.
As I turned to see Sharay's reaction to his words, I noticed she was shaking her head. She approached Mark and looked up at him. Quietly, while gently touching his arm, she said, "I probably would have done the same. After all, we protect those we love even if it isn't the most effective way, right?"
With that, I heard Mark exhale. It dawned on me that he had been holding his breath the entire time, unsure of how he would be received.
"First time my sister isn't holding a grudge," quipped Daniel in feigned disgust.
"Shut it, Daniel!" Sharay barked at her brother. With that, the tension broke and everyone started laughing. I think it was a combination of relief and nervousness.
"So, Hyung," offered up Jinyoung. "What's the plan? I know you didn't make that promise to the Ahgase this summer without formulating one, even if it was only a rough idea."
Taking my cue, I outlined how a large number of people had reached out to me after the press conference letting me now they would back me when the time came. I had, of course, kept their contact information and built a list of other potential people who would benefit vicariously from speaking up against the "scandal" stereotype and who would someday like to date without backlash to their careers.
